NASA plant physiologist Ray Wheeler, Ph.D., and fictional astronaut Mark Watney from the movie "The Martian" have something in common — they are both botanists. But that's where the similarities end. While Watney is a movie character who gets stranded on Mars, Wheeler is the lead for Advanced Life Support Research activities in the Exploration Research and Technology Program at Kennedy Space Center, working on real plant research.

"The Martian movie and book conveyed a lot of issues regarding growing food and surviving on a planet far from the Earth," Wheeler said. "It's brought plants back into the equation."

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-plant-researchers-explore-question-of-deep-space-food-crops