interviewed legendary Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison for the recent roll-out of NatGeo’s Mars:

MARS pioneers a new genre of television which blends science fiction and fact. It tells the story of fictional heroes, the astronauts who take the first steps (for all of humanity) onto the Red Planet; it could be called a legend. Director Everardo Gout and producers Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, and Dave O’Connor tell the legend of these six astronauts in two temporalities. MARS takes place in 2016 and 2033; it features the scientists and engineers who are working in the present on landing humans on Mars, as well as the fictional group of astronauts on the first colonizing trip.

S&F: How did you work with the actors?

MJ: I worked together with the actors over three to four days. I defined certain terms. That was important for them, to be fluent with the language so they were not stuck worrying about how to pronounce a word or what it means. I thought I was just going to go there and shoot the breeze, but then the crew told me they had told the actors it was a space boot camp.

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