Discovery, HP travel to Mars

Factual broadcaster Discovery and computer manufacturer HP have linked up in Australia to develop a six-part original series looking at designing a city on Mars.

Mars Home Planet will air across Discovery Channel and Discovery Science digital platforms in Australia as well as being available on HP’s online hub.

The series follows Australian university students participating in the global HP Mars Home Planet competition, a design, architecture, engineering and virtual reality (VR)-based project to design an urban area for one million people on Mars.

Each episode sees Australian university students tackle the practical challenges of building and being able to sustain urbanisation on the red planet with a deadline of just six months. The task is carried out through a VR experience powered by HP Z Workstation technology.

The series captures the project milestones and is being rolled out online and on Discovery Channel.