Author of “The Martian” Andy Weir participates in a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) employee panel discussion about NASA’s journey to Mars and the film "The Martian," Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, at JPL in Pasadena, California. 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.