NASA’s official announcement that there is proof of running water on Mars has brought on considerable curiosity all over the world.
The revelation also comes very close to the premiere of the Ridley Scott-helmed movie, ‘The Martian,’ which will be unveiled this October.
After NASA’s announcement that the Red Planet’s soil is able to nurture liquid water, 20th Century Fox immediately gave out their reaction by using the report to promote its upcoming movie.
It was even speculated that NASA and Scott previously made arrangements that the announcement be made close to the release date of ‘The Martian’ in order to encourage fans to look forward to the film.
However, the US space agency has debunked the film promotion rumors.
"No, the timing was dictated by the publication of the Nature Geoscience article, which was released today," Nasa spokeswoman Laurie Cantillo said to Yahoo News.
Meanwhile, director Scott also opened up about the water-in-Mars report and told Yahoo Movies that he "knew that months ago".
Recalling one of his conversations with the research personnel, he remembered asking about the “massive glaciers” on Mars and learning about the planet’s white surface possibly being covered with ice.
“I said, 'Wow! Does that mean there was an ocean?' Are we right now what Mars was 750 million years ago?' And they went, 'Uh, good question.' So they want to go up there and find out,’” Scott shared.
In the film’s official trailer, Matt Damon can be seen portraying astronaut Mark Watney, together with his Ares 3 crew members being hit by an unexpected storm and instructed to abandon their mission on Mars.
However, Watney gets left behind and was thought to have met his demise. Being the crew’s resident botanist uses his skills and knowledge to his advantage, especially after realizing that it will be a struggle to send messages to his crew and the rest of NASA.
"So in the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option," Watney says, as he tries on a pair of protective glasses. This could only mean having to grow his own crops and create a means of contacting ground control.
“He finds he has a problem, and instead of him collapsing into terror—because he’s got 28 days to live – and that’s if everything goes well for him – he knuckles down and actually starts to work it out,” Scott explained.
The upcoming film also has an impressive supporting cast lineup, which includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Donald Glover, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
With a screenplay penned by Drew Goddard, who also worked on ‘World War Z’ and ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, ‘The Martian’ makes its way to theaters on Oct. 2. Its official trailer is available below.
