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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Of the three members of the Apollo 11 moon landing crew, ironically two of them have written books entitled Mission to Mars. Michael Collins's is from 1990 and Buzz Aldrin's is from 2013. One might call that a link between two movies we have done for #HATM: First Man and The Martian.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

I really enjoyed We Could Not Fail and referred to it during my spaceflight history course. I'm glad to see that you knew the author, Ariella.

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Andy Weir's novel ends very differently from the movie. This sequence about Watney's post-mission life is not in the novel.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

I do not recall the movie making any reference to radiation exposure for Watney or his crewmates aboard the Hermes. How would this affect the astronauts?

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

In case you're wondering about the issue of U.S.-China cooperation in spaceflight depicted here, the 2011 Wolf Amendment prohibits this. The name refers to former Virginia Representative Frank Wolf.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

The term "steely eyed missile man" in this movie is a reference to NASA flight controller John Aaron. He is the one who made that amazing call during the launch of Apollo 12 in 1969. I saw him in Tulsa, Oklahoma this year.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Watney just asked "How did the launch go?" from space after a terrible accident. That reminds me of a real life moment from 2015, when astronaut Scott Kelly found out about a failed Falcon launch intended to send a Dragon resupply spacecraft to the ISS where he was.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

One other question that Zubrin raises in his book concerns leisure opportunities on the Martian surface. What sport would you like to play there? I would be intrigued by the idea of basketball, given the ability to jump in the reduced gravity.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

And now we see the interior of the Hermes spacecraft with the rest of the crew. I understand that the vehicle is nuclear powered and capable of generating artificial gravity for the benefit of the crew, much like the Discovery One in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Here we see an allusion to thr Mars Pathfinder mission that landed on July 4, 1997. This was the first U.S. landing on Mars since the Vikings of the 1970s and the first in an Internet age. The website devoted to the mission was one of the most visited during those early days of web browsers.

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

As I recall, Zubrin writes in this book about the possibility of railroad travel on the Martian surface. Iron for this purpose is present there. I imagine Mark Watney would have benefited from this capability.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

And since this is a movie about a Mars mission, I would like to make everybody aware of the work of Dr. Robert Zubrin. He has become the most renowned advocate of Mars exploration, forming a plan for sending crews to the planet called Mars Direct.

www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTG2W8X...

#HATM

The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet

The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet - Kindle edition by Zubrin, Robert. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet.

www.amazon.com

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

The NASA CHAPEA facility in Houston, Texas has been hosting crews for Mars mission simulations for the past few years. Crews have tested the human element as it concerns communication delays and equipment malfunctions.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Since the 2010s, astronauts have grown lettuce aboard the VEGGIE facility on the International Space Station.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

In case you're wondering, the first potatoes grown in space date to a shuttle Columbia mission in 1995. NASA officials prioritized potatoes due to their caloric content and adaptability to unfavorable environments.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Are any of you fans of the 2000 movie Mission to Mars, starring Gary Sinise? That movie also features a dust storm as an element of the plot, but focuses on the theme of extraterrestrial life as opposed to the theme of human ingenuity that we see here.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Likewise, this 2015 movie follows the cultural fascination spurred by numerous rovers exploring the planet in the 1990s and 2000s, following signs of water in the distant past.

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

From an online search today, the first movie made about Mars travel I was able to find dates to 1910. This followed the cultural fascination with the Red Planet at the time, especially following Percival Lowell's speculation on the presence of artificial canals there.

#HATM

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

In 1969, NASA officials championed a timeline calling for a crewed Mars mission as early as 1981. How would the United States and the world have been affected by such a commitment?

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks, Rachel! I remember seeing that and being pleasantly surprised several years ago.

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 1d

1) A Man on the Moon by Andy Chaikin, First Man by James Hansen, the memoirs of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle astronauts, and of course my own book on astronaut training.
2) Meatball Sub at my temporary home in Lawrenceville, GA.

#HATM

Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 1d

And that brings us to tonight's #HATM questions-
1) What are your favorite books on the history of space exploration? Or on space itself?
(It's totally @profkelsey.bsky.social latest book. Link below)
2) And what is on the menu at your home tonight?
amzn.to/3WB72xQ

Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos

Humans have learned a lot about the world around us and the universe beyond. We have made powerful insights and created profound theories about the universe and everything in it. Surely the ultimate t...

amzn.to

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 2d

Latest book read and reviewed: Midway: The Pacific War's Most Famous Battle, by Mark E. Stille. My trip to Annapolis and my watching of a recent Great Courses series inspired my reading of this amazingly detailed account.

www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Tyler's review of Midway

4/5: Longtime Navy intelligence officer Mark Stille has written an amazingly thorough account of the Battle of Midway. He argues that although historians have already written extensively about this ba...

www.goodreads.com

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 3d

I still remember your comment on FB after finishing the book: "Am I a nerd for almost crying at the end? Because I almost cried at the end."

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 3d

Congratulations from a fellow University of Iowa graduate, Megan! I am glad that such a good person has reached the pinnacle of her sport.

WNBA @wnba.com · 3d

2025 WNBA Champion x Megan Gustafson 🏆

@LVAces | #WNBAChamps

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Tyler Peterson @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social · 4d

Latest Great Courses series watched: The Future of Space Exploration. I believe that the benefits of spaceflight will fall into two main goals: exploration and resource utilization. Ariel Ekblaw believes in these goals as well and explains them here.

www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-future-o...

The Future of Space Exploration

Rocket into the future of space exploration with this behind-the-scenes briefing from one of the aerospace engineers making it happen.

www.thegreatcoursesplus.com

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