National Geographic is ramping up its digital program, most notably by going multi-platform around its upcoming scripted series Mars.

The company plans to launch a digital prequel, Before Mars, based around the series, as well as the network’s first Instagram show.

This is one of 10 digital short series, which also includes Wild_Life With Bertie Gregory about the up-and-coming filmmaker’s journey into the Pacific Northwest in search of elusive coastal rain wolves.

Nat Geo also plans to create a virtual reality studio, and will roll out digital initiatives highlighting images from its photographers, the company announced at its NewFront presentation on Monday.

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“Consumers and corporate partners alike come to use for our unparalleled access to the people and stories that are impacting our ever-changing world,” National Geographic Partners CEO Declan Moore said at the event.

Before Mars

The Mars digital prequel Before Mars is a digital, short-form scripted series set to debut in August, before the premiere of Mars in November.

The prequel will contain six episodes, each about three to five minutes long, that delve deeper into the stories of Mars central characters Joon and Hana Seung—twin sisters who relocate to a rural town with their mother, and struggle to fit in. One of them finds a ham radio and develops a friendship with a female astronaut on the International Space Station.

Mars, a six-part hybrid miniseries about the effort to reach and colonize Mars and send the first manned space mission to the planet in 2032, blends true-life adventure and scripted drama. The scripted storyline revolves around the two twin sisters who dream of becoming a astronauts, and it’s intercut with documentary-style footage and interviews with space exploration experts including Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Buzz Aldrin.

Before Mars will be executive produced by Tyler Ginter and directed by Lloyd Lee Choi, and is part of a marketing effort to extend the reach of its Mars program.

Focus on Photographers

Nat Geo is also focusing on its photographers. The company is developing MovING Pictures, a video series for Instagram designed to capture intimate moments and experiences of Nat Geo photographers while on assignment in the field, providing an up close and personal look at life behind the lens.

Nat Geo photographers will also play a role in the the digital initiative The Moment that will feature images from Nat Geo photographers and social media ambassadors that focus on a specific subject. The Moment intends to drive awareness about global issues like water shortages and world hunger. It will run across digital platforms including SnapChat Discovery, Instagram, Facebook Live and Twitter, and is set to launch this fall.

Virtual Reality

Nat Geo also plans to create a virtual reality studio featuring content from Nat Geo Channel, Nat Geo Wild and other media properties, that aim to place viewers alongside the channel’s explorers, photographers and storytellers.

READ MORE: Multichannel News, Variety

Here’s a look at Nat Geo’s 2016-2017 working-title digital lineup.

Digital Series

Animal Close-Up

Featuring the cutest, funniest and strangest faces of the animal kingdom, each episode brings viewers closer to the animals they love, alongside important stories and insights, to provide a better understanding of these adorable creatures.

Before Mars

National Geographic Channel’s first-ever digital short series, Before Mars, is a six-part series, set in present day 2016, it creates a narrative arc to the larger series Mars debuting in November, with a story about the struggle of twin girls adjusting to their new rural home, paralleling mankind’s desire to one day make Mars home.

Get Out: A Guide to Adventure

National Geographic’s first how-to series, Get Out, features adventure experts as they share insider tips and tricks to owning the outdoors like a pro, taking viewers one step closer to living like a Nat Geo explorer.

InTime

Through hyper-lapse technology, InTime takes viewers on a high-speed romp through iconic travel destinations around the world.

Invisible

Ever wonder how a bat lands upside down? What happens in the split second a human bursts into laughter? Or sneezes? Or cries? Invisible breaks down these often hilarious moments and events in slow motion, with scientists and psychologists explaining frame by frame.

Limitless

In Limitless, National Geographic goes inside the bodies and minds of individuals who seem almost super-human, surprising viewers with insights into what makes a world-class athlete physically superior to the rest of us.

NGenius

In National Geographic’s original web series targeted at millennials, host Angeli Gabriel answers intriguing questions that plague the human mind in an entertaining, engaging and relatable way. Covering topics from science to history and sprinkled with quick wit and pop culture references, NGenius is Nat Geo’s answer to the trendy YouTube explainer series that have gained extreme popularity in the digital age.

NG Gold

Through National Geographic’s extensive arsenal of filmmakers and scientists, the network has access to some of the most special, wild and unbelievable moments around the globe. These include capturing a crocodile’s mouth clamping down on a camera, discovering an elusive shark in an underwater volcano or witnessing a baby blue whale nursing its mother in the wild.

The Real (City)

Everyone knows that the best way to experience a city is to talk to the locals. In The Real (City) National Geographic Travel takes viewers to cities around the world, uncovering the hidden gems known only by the inhabitants who live there, and inspiring each of us to pack our bags.

Wild_Life With Bertie Gregory
In Nat Geo WILD’s first digital series, wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory journeys to the Pacific Northwest in search of the elusive coastal wolves that inhabit one of the last places on the planet where a wild forest meets a wild ocean. While in the field, Bertie navigates harsh terrain filled with unexpected encounters, all in an effort to find and film wolves that seem more like ghosts of the Northwest than actual creatures.

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