/ Modified oct 21, 2015 6:16 a.m.

'The Martian:' Filmmakers Missed UA Camera's Smile

Mars explorers Peter Smith, Alfred McEwen discuss scientific depictions in blockbuster movie.

Pathfinder Mars camera smiling spotlight Vent holes were made to look like a smile on the front of the Pathfinder Mars camera, says camera builder and University of Arizona scientist Peter Smith.
Courtesy Peter Smith

Hollywood blockbuster “The Martian” has the attention of planetary scientists at the University of Arizona. AZPM's Lorraine Rivera spoke with UA scientists Peter Smith and Alfred McEwen on the Oct. 16 Arizona Week about the movie and their work in exploring Mars.

Spoiler alert: You’ll hear about a key scene in the movie, involving a camera built at the UA in Tucson.

Here’s Lorraine Rivera, first with Peter Smith:

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona