In the 2015 science fiction blockbuster The Martian, the United States makes a rushed effort to send life-sustaining provisions to its marooned astronaut on the Red Planet. Alas, the attempt fails when NASA's resupply rocket explodes shortly after liftoff. But officials with China’s national space program save the day when they offer the services of a previously secret Chinese rocket that is capable of ferrying the needed materials. The Martian movie and the book on which it is based have been hailed for their many realistic technical details.