Review: stranded on Mars’ desolate landscape, a cocky, endearing protagonist breathes life into this survival tale.
Unlike science fiction films featuring grotesque aliens and faraway galaxies, Ridley Scott’s The Martian depicts a sci-fi space mission that could soon be science fact.
20th Century Fox
NASA has set a target date of 2030 for a manned mission to Mars. With no real scientific breakthroughs needed, success depends on developing the proper technology.
Humans didn’t evolve to deal with the unique conditions of space travel.
Bluedharma/Flickr
Hollywood may already have done it but when we eventually send real astronauts to Mars, what medicines should we arm them with? And will they work the same way as they do on Earth?
The dark streaks on Mars’ hills will be a good place to look for life.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The Martian is a rare film that seeks to use science to enhance the plot, and gives a sense of the splendour of the Red Planet.
This digital false-colour image shows the dark, narrow streaks on Martian slopes inferred to be formed by seasonal flow of water on the planet. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
New research suggests that salty water exists on Mars in the summer months. But that wouldn’t be the first time we hear of water on the red planet. So what’s new and what isn’t?
Jean Paul Santos with the finished 4x4 sub-array antenna assembly that may help rovers talk directly with Earth.
Matthew Chin
New research provides a compact but powerful way for Mars rovers to communicate directly with Earth via an array of smaller antenna elements, bypassing the need for an intermediary.
Some atomic ratio detective work on our solar system neighbors tells us a lot about their watery pasts. That Venus and Mars are mostly dry now could be a cautionary tale for us on the Blue Planet.
The ice caps on Mars could have been the source of the water flows.
ESA
For centuries, scientists have wondered how water channels on Mars formed. Our model suggests that they were caused by water erupting from subsurface lakes on the ancient planet.
The rover that could, and still is, running scientific marathons on Mars.
NASA/JPL/Cornell/Maas Digital LLC
I have always been in awe of the night sky, trying to comprehend the vastness of space and the countless wonders it contains. But I have always felt a certain dissatisfaction with only being able to see…