Cast of 'The Martian' asks ISS astronauts about space travel
Stars of the new sci-fi film "The Martian" held a video Q&A with NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren, and things got funny when Kelly revealed his most important task on a shuttle mission.
They already ""="" shortcode="link" asset-type="article" uuid="f6029678-4180-4ca7-b972-60046ce113b3" slug="international-space-station-astronauts-treated-to-the-martian-screening" link-text="got to screen " section="news" title="ISS astronauts treated to screening of 'The Martian'" edition="us" data-key="link_bulk_key" api="{"id":"f6029678-4180-4ca7-b972-60046ce113b3","slug":"international-space-station-astronauts-treated-to-the-martian-screening","contentType":null,"edition":"us","topic":{"slug":"science"},"metaData":{"typeTitle":null,"hubTopicPathString":"Science","reviewType":null},"section":"news"}"> aboard the ISS ahead of the film's official release date, and NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren recently got to chat with some of the cast of the sci-fi movie as well.
Matt Damon, Michael Peña, Kate Mara and others recorded questions for the astronauts after the premiere of "The Martian" at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month. The cast members asked the astronauts questions they probably get all the time, like "What do you miss most about being on Earth?" and "What did you do to prepare for the mission to the International Space Station?"
After viewing the questions at a later date, Kelly and Lindgren recorded their answers to the cast questions, and the resulting video was posted to the 20th Century Fox YouTube Channel on Wednesday.
Some of the answers were pretty surprising. Lindgren said the thing he missed most about being on Earth is being able to just hop in the car and go somewhere. Not completely unexpected when spending 6-12 months of your life inside a tin can in space, but different than the typical friends, family or good-food answers you might expect to hear in response to that question.
Things got interesting with the final question posed to the group. Actress Jessica Chastain and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson teamed up to inquire about an infamous task pilots are required to undertake on a shuttle mission. Not missing a beat, Kelly talked about maintaining the toilets, a critical task that can only be entrusted to the most talented and capable person on a spacecraft. His answer drew laughs from everyone.
You can watch the rest of the Q&A session in the video above. "The Martian" premieres in theaters in Australia and the UK on Wednesday, followed by the US on Friday. Read my CNET colleague Rich Trenholm's review of the film here.