What continues to fascinate me is that the film largely demonstrates the underlying physics behind all of space travel, which is almost entirely defined by the laws of motion defined by Isaac Newton.
Yes, the craft is bristling with high tech gadgetry that ensured the right forces generated the right kick in the right direction at the right time. But the path that it followed, and the timing of these various kicks, and the amount of cushioning that it needed to land, was defined by the laws of Newton over 300 years ago!
In these days when Apple and Samsung are arguing over who invented some button or other, and Intel are promising faster and faster chips, it is easy to forget what the real inventors and scientists contributed to the modern world in centuries gone by.
Anyroads I'll claim that to me, the real hero of the Mars mission is Sir Isaac, and an Englishman no less. :clap2:
Such is my take on physics anyway, others may disagree.
