Some Even Tweeted That The Thought Humans Had Visited Mars

In Hollywood, there is a concept called "suspension of disbelief," which is based on people letting go of their pre-conceived ideas and just letting a movie or television show be entertaining.

But that may have gone a little too far with the new movie "The Martian," which is based on a novel telling the story of an astronaut thought to be dead being stranded on the Red Planet.

Now, most of us know that any human mission to Mars is years, if not decades, in the future. But apparently the movie is so believable that it made some wonder if it was based on a true story, according to a report in the U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail.

"Sometimes I'm smart, and sometimes I google "is the martian base on a true story.",  Tweeted a user named Angela Lynne.

Another user, Lauren Hart, Tweeted "Asking if The Martian was a true story, not one of my finer moments."

In the movie, U.S. Astronaut Mark Watney is left behind by his crew, who thinks he has been killed in a dust storm. The story focuses on his efforts to survive in hopes of NASA launching a rescue mission.

Maybe the confusion is because director Sir Ridley Scott made a movie that has been praised as being as realistic and scientifically accurate as possible. He reportedly had a lot of help from NASA to be sure he got the details right.

(NASA image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars