01x35 - Space Race/Jet's Time Machine

[bunniefuu]

Ready, Jet, Go!

THEME SONG: Jet Propulsion, that's his name.

Jet Propulsion, your rocket to fame.

When he arrived, he created a buzz, cause there was no house,

and then there was.

He said--

People of Earth, you ain't seen nothing yet.

I'm a Bortron , and my name is Jet.

Jet Propulsion, that's his name.

He looks like us, but he isn't the same.

I'm a space tripper and a galaxy crosser.

My parents brought me here in a flying saucer.

And just to prove it was a fact, he flew them up to space

and back with jet propulsion.

Jet Propulsion.

Ready, Jet, go!

He showed up, and now it's a blast.

Looks like the future really got here fast.

Nice to meet you, human race.

Tell me all about the place.

Jet Propulsion.

Jet Propulsion.

Jet Propulsion.

Ready, Jet, go!

[ZOOM]

[SCREECH]

Whoo!

So much fun.

Whoo!

I love racing these hover scooters.

This time, I really want to win.

[CHUCKLES] Me too.

Wait, what's a race?

And what does "win" mean again?

A race is when everyone tries to go as fast as they can.

And "win" means, um, to be the person

that finishes the race first.

Hmm, I kind of remember that.

You see, we don't have racing and winning on Bortron .

But Sunspot is the first in everything we do.

So he always wins.

I get it.

Well, we could try a race now.

And I could try to win.

I like it.

Let's do it now.

On your mark.

That means line up.

Get set and go!

Whoo, that's one fast alien pet. [HONKS HORN]

Hi, kids.

[ZOOM]

I'm meeting my brother Zucchini today to fly

our saucers around the planets.

But you're not actually racing against each other?

Race?

Nope, we don't race.

We just try to beat our own previous time

when we flew together.

We've flown around Bortron 's moon since we were kids.

[BEEPING] - [SQUEAKY NOISES]

No, Sunspot, it's not time for your ear massage and sushi.

But it is time to meet Zucchini.

[CLOSES DOOR]

Say, kids, you want to join me flying around

in space with old Uncle Z?

Yes!

Uh, racing around the solar system, even faster than usual?

Whoa.

Hey, look, Sean, you're in the wagon.

Mrs. Propulsion, are you sure today

is Meet Uncle Zucchini Day?

You might have the wrong--

, , , , .

Doors are shut.

Engine's on.

Everybody in their place.

Let's go into outer space!

KIDS: Ready, Jet, go!

[REVS ENGINE, ZOOMS OFF]

So you and Uncle Z never race.

[CHUCKLES] Never, that's an Earthy thing.

Oh, Zucchini and I always had so much fun

seeing who could drink more exploding shakes, trying

to stand on each other's heads longer

than we did the time before.

Ah, what a fun Bortron childhood.

[HORN]

There's Uncle Z.

Hey, good to see everyone.

Hiya, sis.

[ELBOW BUMP]

So Mom, Uncle Z, I have a new fun

idea about how you can drive your saucers around today.

New?

Fun?

My ears are listening.

How about a race?

Ooh, is a "race" sort of like a potato?

[GIGGLING]

No, a race is nothing like a potato.

You make French fries out of potatoes.

A race is when everyone tries to go as fast as they

can to reach a place first.

[ZOOM]

And the first one there wins.

Hmm, interesting, though Celery and I

have fun just flying our saucers and not

doing that potato thing.

A race is nothing like a potato.

A race is an Earthy contest.

You try to go faster than the other saucer.

Well--

BOTH: Maybe.

Maybe?

How about yes?

You both like going fast, right?

It's kind of like this.

It's a Commander Cressida comet called Solar System Showdown.

It's all about a race.

Hmm.

You know, it could be fun, Z. I say, just once, we race.

Fine.

Once for fun.

[CHEERING]

Let's start racing.

All right, the best racing plan

is start fast, then keep at a steady pace the whole way.

Wrong.

Slow and steady at first, then fast, fast, fast, at the end.

[CHUCKLES] You'll never win like that.

(CHUCKLING) Oh, yeah?

Well, we'll see.

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

[DRUM ROLL]

[BOING]

Hey, let's win this and show Zucchini who is, as you

Earthies say, numero uno.

OK, here are our space race rules.

Each saucer must fly past every planet

once, starting with the planet closest to the sun.

So Mercury's first.

Then every planet all the way to Neptune.

And you race back to the finish line, the Earth's moon.

Aha.

And the saucer that reaches the line of finish

first wins the race?

- I get it. - Correct.

Time to race.

Excelsior!

[ZOOM]

[REVVING ENGINES]

Ready, Jet, go!

[ZOOM OFF]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

That was Mercury.

Bring on Venus.

I'll tick off each planet as we fly past it.

And I'll keep Uncle Zucchini in sight the whole time.

I'll let you guys know exactly where he is.

And Sunspot and I will float on our backs and eat sushi.

[REVS ENGINE]

Whoa.

Whoa, maybe pointing out comets and asteroids

would be more helpful.

Whoa!

Comet on your left.

CELERY: [GIDDY LAUGHTER] This is a real fun Earthy space race.

Excelsior!

Uh-oh, Uncle Zucchini is picking up speed.

He's about to pass Venus.

[ZOOM]

That was Venus, next stop, Earth.

There's Earth, [SNIFFLES] the finest,

most amazing planet in the solar system, the home that I love.

Yeah.

I understand, Sean.

But now, time for Game of Faces On.

You mean, Get Our Game Face On?

Yeah, because we want to win this potato.

Look, Uncle Z, coming up.

We have a very close contest today

as the two Bortronian saucers approach home

sweet Earthy home.

We're in for a real outer space doozy here, today, folks.

SYDNEY: Hello, Earth, and goodbye, Earth.

Now up ahead is Mars.

CELERY: Whoa, that was close.

Why would Zucchini get in my way?

We're just flying for fun.

Mom, you're racing him, remember?

Oh, oh, right, the Earthy type potato race thing.

Well, then, time to catch Zucchini.

[ZOOM]

[LAUGHS]

Go for it, Mom.

Whoa, we're almost even with Uncle Z. Whoo!

We caught him!

JET: Here's the big gas giant, Jupiter.

After that, it's easy-peasy.

[ZOOM]

OK, this is "the" coolest race I've ever been in.

[GASPS] There's Jupiter!

I can see its great red spot.

[ZOOM]

Saturn!

[ZOOM]

Uranus is behind us.

Holy moly, we're headed for the last planet.

Blue, cold, windy Neptune.

Hey, you're flying very nicely today, Celery.

Oh, thanks.

You too, sibling.

I mean, it's fun just to fly together.

Wait, wait a minute.

We're racing.

[REVS ENGINE]

Take that, Zucchini.

[GIDDY LAUGHTER]

UNCLE Z: Ha ha ha, right back at you, sis.

Woo-hoo-hoo!

[ZOOM]

SYDNEY: We both passed Neptune.

Now it's a sprint to the Finish Line.

KIDS: To the Earth's moon!

Hey, hey, how do you like my newly installed

Bortronian engine boosters?

Woo-hoo-hoo!

[BEEP]

Whoa, newly installed Bortronian engine boosters?

I don't think we can catch Uncle Z.

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

[GASPS] I have an idea.

In her race, Commander Cressida used a really cool

trick called a gravity assist.

We could whip around the planet like Commander Cressida did.

And doing that, we pick up a lot of speed.

So we could win the race.

Perfect.

But does that really work?

It does.

Face , ready to gravity assist you.

- Hi, Face. - Hello.

A gravity assist is when a spacecraft like your saucer

flies very close by a planet and uses the planet's gravity

and energy to gain power and whip

around back into space a lot faster

than it was going before.

The energy of the planet's gravity assists the saucer.

Cool!

Thanks, Face.

Happy to assist. Ah?

Ha ha ha.

Oh, ha ha ha.

Well, Jupiter is the biggest planet.

So it'd probably help us the most.

If we want to win, we'd better try this gravity assist now.

Uncle Zucchini is way ahead.

Let's do it!

Excelsior!

SEAN: Approaching Jupiter, coming in close, Mrs.

Propulsion, but not too close.

SYDNEY: Wow, nice.

And now fly as straight on as you can.

You should pick up more and more speed.

And steer away from Jupiter at the exact right time.

OK, ready? Steer away now.

[ZOOM]

[CHEERS] - It worked.

Booyah, science.

[LAUGHS] It did.

It was a brilliant suggestion, Sydney,

and very good dancing, Sunspot.

[REVVING ENGINE]

[SPEAKING GIBBERISH] What?

How did that happen?

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

[LAUGHS] Bye-bye, Uncle Z!

We passed all the planets.

Oh, yeah.

And we're about to land--

KIDS: On the moon!

[CHEERING]

[THUD]

Yeah, we won!

This Earthy potato race is ours!

CELERY: Woo-hoo-hoo!

Oh, I can't believe it.

[LAUGHING] Aw, that was so nice.

[LAUGHING] Oh!

OK, so I see you won this time, doing a fancy gravity

assist to zip around Jupiter.

Aw, no, no, I don't want the sushi, but thank you.

Today, all of us on Team Propulsion are numero uno.

Hey, I got an idea.

How about we do another Earthy space

race again in a few months?

You in, sis?

Oh, you're on, Z. And next time, you can win.

See you in an Earth month.

[CHEERING]

If you could drive a school bus

to anywhere in the solar system, where would you take it?

Me? I'd go to Saturn.

Hi. I'm astronomer Amy Meinzer.

The Cassini spacecraft is about the size of a small school bus.

The Cassini spacecraft was launched in October of .

And it's been orbiting Saturn ever since it got there,

taking all kinds of amazing pictures

of this beautiful ringed planet.

The Cassini spacecraft was built right here at the Jet

Propulsion Laboratory.

I actually got to see the Cassini

spacecraft in the Clean Room before it

was shipped to Cape Canaveral.

And it was huge and covered with shiny gold foil.

The shiny gold coverings protect the spacecraft

from the extremes of heat and cold

that we find in outer space.

The model you see behind me here, that's only half

the size of the real thing.

And it took seven years to reach Saturn once it was launched.

Cassini has discovered a whole bunch of new moons

that orbit Saturn.

And it's also found out a whole bunch about the rings

and what they're made out of.

It turns out the rings are mostly made of ice particles.

One of Saturn's own moons, an iceball

called Enceladus is actually spraying

ice particles into the Saturn system and making new rings.

The Cassini spacecraft carried a special delivery

for Saturn, the Huygens probe.

This probe was a smaller spacecraft

that was designed to land on the surface of Saturn's

largest moon, Titan.

So the next time you get on your school bus,

just imagine that you're flying around the rings

of Saturn, just like Cassini.

[HUMMING]

Wow!

What you working on, Jet?

A time machine.

A time machine?

Cool.

Wait, what's a time machine?

Uh, let's see, it's a machine that

can take us forward or back in time

to any time we want to go to.

Wow.

We can go back in time to, like, last week or when I was three?

Yep, at least that's the idea.

I haven't tested it yet.

Oh, I've always wanted to time travel.

There are so many great stories about it.

Um, but, you know, Jet, the stories usually say

that you can't change the past.

You can only learn from it.

Well, I can't wait to learn from the past.

Why do you time travel, Jet?

Well, you know how much we Bortronians

like to make mistakes?

I think it would also be great to go back in time after I make

the mistake and fix the things that I

got wrong the first time.

You guys, my mom just told me that a meteor

shower is about to happen.

Um why do meteors take showers?

Actually, it's called that because it's

a shower of meteors.

They kind of look like they shower down from the sky.

[SQUEAKY NOISE]

But Mindy, meteors almost always

burn up in the atmosphere and don't make it to Earth.

So how come the meteors come in showers?

Well, most of the time, meteor showers

happen when the Earth passes through the path

of a comet, which leaves a trail of dust behind.

[COUGHING, CHOKING]

Anyway, the dust and bits of rock

burn up when they rub up against the Earth's atmosphere.

And that makes meteors?

Right.

Even a tiny piece of rock can burn

up as a huge, bright meteor. ALL: Ooh.

Wow, I can't wait to take a meteor shower.

Whoa.

What's that you're working on, Jet?

Ha, I thought you'd never ask.

ALL: A time machine.

Oh, OK.

I-- wait, a time machine?

Uh-huh.

Come on, Jet, you don't actually think you're going

to travel in time, do you?

Well, not just me.

It's a four-seater.

All of us can time travel together.

Oh.

No one has ever traveled in time that we know of.

That just sounds like science fiction to me.

Well, Sean, since Jet comes from Bortron ,

a lot of his technology seems like science fiction,

like how it takes us Earthies nine years to fly to Pluto.

And Jet's mom can get us there in nine minutes.

Yeah, but--

All I'm saying is [CHUCKLES] science fiction can

sometimes become science fact.

But a time machine Jet built in his backyard?

Come on.

Uh, ah, there, I'm actually ready to test it right now.

How far back in time do you want to go?

Well, I'd want to meet my hero, Neil Armstrong,

and watch him fly Apollo and land on the moon, obviously.

I'd rather go into the future than the past.

I want to live like Commander Cressida,

in a time where only science fiction dreams have become

a reality, like time travel.

I want to go back and find that lost hat

that I made for Stuffy Bear.

Well, I want to go back to last

Saturday, for another slice of that amazing pie

I had for dessert.

I forgot to ask for seconds.

How could I have been so foolish?

[DOOR OPENS]

[GRUNTING]

Jet, let's at least be scientific about this.

You're right, Sean.

I should go back in time to the moment pie was invented.

Sounds like fun.

Ha, I know, right?

[SIGHS] You guys--

[CLATTER]

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

[THUD]

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

Ugh.

Whoo!

Thank you.

That was awkward.

Wow, you guys just missed the coolest meteor.

Oh, no, what did we miss?

It was so bright.

And it broke into these little ones sh**ting down all at once,

sh**ting down, no, no, pow!

Aw.

Maybe Sunspot got a picture of it?

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

Rats, all this talk about meteor showers,

and we missed the best meteor.

Wait a minute.

This is the perfect opportunity to test my new time machine.

Huh?

I can simply program it to take us back in time to just

before that big meteor happened.

And we'll all be ready to see it,

instead of whatever else we were doing.

And also, we can find out how the vase ended up on my head.

Heh, yeah, that too.

I'll set the time travel time back just three minutes.

The meteor shower happened within the last three minutes.

It's the perfect amount of time travel for a first experiment.

Ugh.

Hop on, everybody. - Good luck.

See you three minutes ago.

[SQUEAKY NOISES]

Jet, I don't know--

oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh!

ALL: Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh!

Perfect.

Now it's : again, before the meteor shower.

Yeah, maybe the clock just changed,

and that is all that happened.

Wait, Sean, Mr. Propulsion was just standing over there

with a big vase of flowers.

And now he's gone.

[DOOR OPENS]

[GROANING]

ALL: It worked.

We time traveled!

Uh, Dad--

Oh, hey, Jet.

It's your mom and my anniversary,

and I got her some giant Bortronian flowers.

Now all I need is a vase for them.

And I think there's one out here.

Yeah, there it is, now to get it down.

Dad, wait, I'll help you.

We'll all help.

I'll bet it's going to land on his head again.

[THUMP]

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

Ugh.

Whoo!

Thank you.

Now that was awkward.

Wow, you guys just missed the coolest meteor again!

Oh, no, did we miss the super bright meteor again?

Yep.

Aw.

We went back in time, but we missed the best meteor.

OK, that didn't go so hot.

Come on, Sean, no biggie, as you Earthies say.

Let's just reset the time machine and go back again.

But Jet, first, let's stop and acknowledge

the amazing fact that you invented

an actual working time machine.

Right, right, Excelsior.

Let's hurry up and travel back in time again

and catch that meteor shower.

Everybody, hop on again.

Good luck with whatever it is you're doing.

Jet, I'm not sure I--

whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

:, let's keep Dad from getting

that vase on his head in time to see the meteor shower.

[DOOR OPENS] - [GROANING]

- Hi, Dad. - Oh, hey, Jet.

It's your mom and my anniversary.

Wait, and you got her some giant Bortronian flowers.

And you need a vase.

Luckily, we have this ladder.

Wow, thank you.

You know, you're a great bunch of kids.

How did you know I'd need a ladder.

[THUMP] [MUFFLED SPEECH]

Whoo.

Thank you.

Now that was awkward.

Wow, you guys just missed the coolest meteor again--

again.

Oh, no, did we miss the awesome meteor?

Yep.

Aw.

[CHUCKLES] Don't worry.

No failing, no learning.

Let's just go back in time again.

Jet, can we--

ALL: Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

:, stop Dad from getting the vase on his head.

See meteor shower.

Ugh, I'm not really made for this time travel.

Bah, [THUD]

[DOOR OPENS]

[GROANING] Oh, hey, Jet. It's your mom and--

Oh, right, anniversary flowers.

You need a vase. Right.

Uh, yes, yes, I do.

Uh, whoa, uh--

CARROT: [MUFFLED SPEECH] Ugh. Whoo.

Thank you.

That was awkward.

Wow, you guys just miss the coolest meteor--

again-- again-- again.

BOTH: We missed the awesome meteor?

Yep.

[THUD]

Seriously, I think I've got maybe one more of these,

and then I'm going to have to pass.

:, stop Dad from vase-hunting.

[DOOR OPENS]

- [GROANING] - Hi, Dad.

You need a vase?

Ah, it's like you can read my mind.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, careful, kids.

[GRUNTS] Whoa.

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

Ugh.

Thank you.

We missed the awesome meteor, didn't we

Again-- again-- again, again--

again.

No problem, let's try again.

No failing, no--

Time out, you guys.

Why don't we be scientific about this and have an actual plan?

Hmm, Sean's right.

We can only learn from the past. - Thank you.

So let's learn from it.

Let's just be calm and help Mr. Propulsion the best we can.

We'll offer to help with the ladder

and warn him to get the vase down carefully--

But not try to get the vase down ourselves.

Got it. Excelsior!

ALL: Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

Aha, :.

I'm just going to sit down for a sec.

[THUD]

[DOOR OPENS]

[GROANING]

Hey, Dad, happy anniversary.

Here's the ladder.

We'll set it up, and you climb up.

Very carefully.

And get that vase down.

Yeah, I don't mind if I do.

Hey, what is this, mind reading day?

Oh, wonderful.

Perfect, Dad And look in the sky for the awesome meteor

in , , .

ALL: Wow.

That was spectacular.

Thank you, kids.

How did you all know--

[CRASH]

--aw, whoops.

Ah, well, I got another one of these in the house.

ALL: Whoa.

So that was fun.

We really did learn from the past.

Do we dare to travel further back in time?

I'm not sure it's such a good idea.

I was thinking the same thing.

Maybe I should dismantle the time machine before we

get into more trouble with it.

Maybe the machine can't go further back in time

than a few minutes anyway.

[ZAP]

Uh, or maybe a few thousand years.

[CHUCKLES] Whoa, now that we know we can go way back,

what should we do?

JET: No sweat, I already dismantled it.

Now it's a machine that makes that amazing pie

I had last Saturday.

I won't have to time travel to get another piece.

[CHUCKLES]

- Yes, awesome. - All right.

Mmm. - Cool.

Mmm.

Did you ever sit up in your bed

and think about what it would be like if your bed could fly?

Hi, I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer And I'm here

with Christian Gelzer, who's the historian at NASA's Armstrong

Flight Research Center.

So Christian, this thing didn't really fly, did it?

It really did.

It's the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle.

And it was used to train the Apollo astronauts

for landing on the moon.

I guess you can't really go to school to learn how

to land on the moon, can you?

Not in , ' or ', no, it's pretty hard.

This thing had an unusual nickname.

It's sometimes called the Flying Bedstead.

Why is it called the Flying Bedstead.

CHRISTIAN GELZER: Well, in part, because I

think some people think it looks like a bedstead, or a bed

frame.

And in part, because it actually flew.

It would take off vertically.

There's a jet engine, not like this in most airplanes,

but aligned vertically.

So it would take off vertically.

And then it had thrusters at the corners that allowed the pilot

to be able to roll, maneuver, cant, move forward and back,

and then bring the vehicle down and land

vertically, much like the actual lunar module would.

AMY MAINZER: That's pretty cool.

CHRISTIAN GELZER: I would say.

Was it hard for the astronauts to learn how to fly this thing?

The first couple of flights, it's difficult.

But Armstrong's comment afterward was,

it felt like I had done it before.

And it was because of flying this.

Christian, do you think I could fly it.

I'm afraid not, Amy.

This one's been parked for a while,

and there's no jet engine in there anymore that works.

I guess I'll just have to sit on my bed

and imagine that my bed can land on the moon.

You and me both.

THEME SONG: Jet Propulsion, ready, set, go!

Ooh, ooh.

Jet Propulsion.

Jet Propulsion.

Jet Propulsion.

Ready, Jet, go!