Big Picture Science for Monday October 04, 2015 - Martian Madness

Big Picture Science - Martian Madness

It’s the starkly beautiful setting for the new film “The Martian,” and – just in time – NASA has announced that the Red Planet is more than a little damp, with liquid water occasionally oozing over its surface.  But Mars remains hostile terrain.  Mark Watney, the astronaut portrayed by Matt Damon, struggles to survive there. If he has a hard time, what chance does anyone else have?
 
Find out how long you could last just eating Martian potatoes.  Also, author Andy Weir describes how he prevailed upon his readers to turn his serialized blog posts into a technically accurate thriller that inspired the film.   Plus, the NASA advisor to “The Martian” sorts the science from the fiction.
 
And, how the discovery of water on Mars might change NASA’s game plan.
 
Guests:

• Andy Weir – Author, “The Martian”
• James Green - Director, NASA’s Planetary Science
• Christopher Wanjek - Health and science reporter based in Baltimore, Maryland
• James Watzin – Director, NASA’s Mars Exploration Program

Download episode at: http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/martian-madness

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.