Dave Lavery, program executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA Headquarters in Washington, second from right, speaks about NASA’s past and present missions to Mars during a panel discussion about NASA’s journey to Mars and the movie “The Martian”, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, at Columbia University in New York City. Also participating in the discussion was Mike Massimino, Columbia University professor and former NASA astronaut, far left, Drew Goddard, screenwriter of “The Martian”, second from left, David Miller, NASA Chief Technologist, center, and Film Producer for “The Martian” Aditya Sood, far right. NASA scientists and engineers served as technical consultants on the film. The movie portrays a realistic view of the climate and topography of Mars, based on NASA data, and some of the challenges NASA faces as we prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet in the 2030s.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)