In one sense The Martian is impossible

Blockbuster sci-fi flick The Martian - and the book it's based on - is the product of exhaustive "what-if" research.

Suppose there really was a mission on Mars, what would the base camp look like? What would the space suits, the helmets, gloves, rover craft, meals, spaceships really be like? Down to the nitty-gritty detail. Nerds gone wild. Even NASA blessed the take on technology.

It's persuasive, even the landscape looks unearthly. It reminded me of the press conference for another space epic, Gravity, when a reporter asked the director what it was like filming in outer space for so long.