For each mission, NASA does a considerable amount of work publicizing their efforts to bring awareness of their mission to the general public. The same would be true for a manned Mars Mission, as the official Mission Guide for The Martian demonstrates.
The guide looks like a slick magazine with a whole bunch of facts and pictures about the Ares 3 mission. This mission? Study the geology and sedimentology of Acidalia Planitia to learn about the planet’s recent geologic history.
The document also talks about the background of each of the characters. What’s cool about this is that it expands the world a bit from the Andy Weir’s novel. Apparently, SpaceX has set up its own space station, and the Hermes Spacecraft was a join project from NASA, the ESA, JAXA, ISRO and private interests.
Download the official Mission Guide here.
Image Credit: The Martian