DESTINATION: ASTEROID

THE OSIRIS SITE VISIT VIDEO

Draft Script #3

SCRIPT VIDEO

	Studio open, transition to…
	…“aged” open.
When most people think of the solar system, they picture The Sun and its family of planets.	Pan and scan stills of the sun and planets, with dissolves between each body as it moves across the screen. Might even use multiple, overlapping images to populate the screen.
From gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn to rocky, small worlds like Mercury and Venus, the solar system we see today represents billions of years of change and transformation.	planets
Asteroids tell part of the story, too.	Gaspara, Ida and Dactyl, etc.
These tumbling space bodies are time capsules that recall the earliest days of planetary formation, and may hold clues about how life began.	Ancient scene develops with flora, sunrise gradient, and clouds sliding in. Very 2-D layout, multiple video layers, very simple execution. Get images of stromatilites. Look up Shark Bay images.
Most asteroids occupy a region of space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.	Top down “traditional” schematic of solar system
But some make their journeys all alone, outside the asteroid belt.	Schematic showing alternate routes or groups of near earth asteroids
In fact, thousands of these wayward space rocks travel around the sun in complex, widely varied orbits, and it’s only recently that scientists have come to recognize their significance.	…continues… --schematic drawings… --fades to asteroid models hung from mobile --rocks moving thru space on fishing line
The ones that pass close to our own planet are called Near Earth Objects—or “NEOs”. They range in size from the family car to small cities.	On-screen text spelled out over simple 2-D graphics of earth and a “rock”, slightly de-focused --one rock prominently displayed --NEO
B-Type asteroids are believed to contain unchanged remains of the ancient solar system. They are relatively rare.	Chart with magnets moving rocks across star field background, with text labels on screen naming each sample rock Itokawa – S Mathilde – C Cleopatra –M --OR…these could be sample rocks on table with tent card placards next to them, defocused star field poster behind the rocks
Even more rare are B-Type NEOs —asteroids that pass close to the Sun.	Scientists and assistants enter scene and walk past reporters. Assistants set up easel and flip chart
But find an accessible, carbonaceous NEO, and experts start talking.	Reverse shots of the room, the gathered reporters, CU faces, CU of work OSIRIS being written long hand on reporter notebook
Our scientists know an exciting opportunity when they see one.	Press reporter (Jimmy Olsen) leans in a snaps a photo of the sample rocks on the table
	Reverse shot CU of camera
Calculations show that one particularly compelling carbonaceous asteroid called RQ-36 will pass near enough to Earth in the next few years that a spacecraft could actually be sent to visit it.	“expert” in “lab” using pointer to show visiting reporters where objects are located in the solar system --reveal chart
That’s why a partnership among The University of Arizona, NASA, and Lockheed Martin continue to develop OSIRIS.	Scale up graphic or logo of OSIRIS. --surround logo by deco border
	Audio sting here. Magazine cover photo.
Scientists want to bring samples of this space rock back to earth for advanced study.	Scientist shows actual sand/dust/rock samples on table in front of press
It’s American know-how at its best--pure ingenuity…and good thinking…	Scientist looking through microscope. Multiple angles, medium, close. Turns to camera and gives thumbs up.
…and in this exclusive, behind-the-scenes demonstration, our technical experts can actually show us what the mission will look like.	Old television screen wheeled in. Cutaway to press who all respond in amazement –WOW—Show animation in screen. Scientist will display animations for earnest reporters scribbling on notepads.
A rocket will blast off in 2011, sending the OSIRIS spacecraft on a precise, intersecting voyage to RQ-36.	Launch video or animation
	Calendar page flips showing months from launch to arrival
Upon arrival in 2013, the vehicle will begin a thorough mapping process, carefully characterizing the asteroid and helping refine plans for the main event: sample return.	Flight trajectories, animation of the mission
Professor Dante Lauretta is a mission expert.	Two shot with Mike Drake in office in B & W.
SOT Lauretta : The most important aspect of this mission is sample return. Everything else derives from that.	On camera interview with Lauretta in B&W, with simple name and title on screen.
Engineers have thought about this exciting phase in great detail. Using the asteroid’s own gravity, OSIRIS will make a slow-motion approach to the surface, closing at no more than 10 centimeters a second.	Animation showing approach with time-to-contact graphic
The sample arm will gracefully deploy from its stowed position, prepared for contact.	Animation
Slowly, slowly, the craft approaches…and then…	Animation
…contact!	animation
A jet of gas will stir up the surface of the rock, forcing particles into a clever collection trap…	Animation.
…demonstrated here in one of the research labs where engineers designed the machine.	Cut to testing facility of sample head.
Then, after careful visual and weight analysis confirms a good sample collection, the arm will stow its bounty in the Sample Return Capsule, wrapped up like a present for eager scientists back on Earth.	APIS camera animation with flashing APIS text; Weigh and stow animation, too.
But they’ll have to wait a little while longer. The sample returns in 2017, floating down via parachute to a soft landing in Utah.	SRC return sequence animation
In addition to important scientific research, OSIRIS helps humankind prepare for the future, too.	Serious faces leaning over print- outs, considering orbital trajectories.
Asteroids like RQ-36 may be academically valuable, but they can also be dangerous.	Cut to alternate angle showing them turn to each other with pursed lips, nodding their heads in mutually agreed concern.
In fact, even right now NASA experts along with scientists around the world scan the skies, looking for space borne interlopers.	--Telescope still pictures pointed at sky --pan and scan stills of asteroids caught on film plates or digital images
Once again, Dr. Lauretta.
SOT Lauretta: The threat of collision is real.	On camera interview
65 million years ago, an object like RQ-36 slammed into the Earth, radically transforming the course of evolution.	Prehistoric scene re-cap
	Dinosaur scene – T-Rex slides into frame, opens mouth and roars just as big explosion hits in background
Only through advanced research like OSIRIS will experts have the knowledge they need to effectively prepare for the day when an unwanted avalanche from space should bear down on our home.	Wash screen to white for transition
But for now, excitement continues to build about the vast scientific potentials that await. Sample returns from ancient solar neighbors are not only rare, but also some of the most valuable undertakings possible.	Scientists and reporters close their press notebooks, begin to wrap up the event. --assistant scientists close the flip chart, begin to take the easel down, shake hands with each other
With daring creativity, careful planning, and the will to dream, OSIRIS promises to push back the frontiers of knowledge as humanity ventures farther and farther out into space.	Quick cuts showing the total sequence of the mission, from launch to return.
	End with the OSIRIS logo growing center frame.
	Tag out with aged NASA animation.

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