When “Prometheus” director Ridley Scott had questions about humans traveling to planets outside our solar system, he turned to a scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Kevin Hand, a deputy chief scientist at JPL, worked with Scott on the prequel to “Alien,” opening June 8.
“They had lots of questions about what it takes for humans to travel to distant worlds, how those worlds might be uninhabitable for humans, the constraints to consider when thinking about alien life, and how it might have adapted to that environment,” Hand told Fast Company magazine.
“My goal was to help them get the science right while maintaining a plot that tells a compelling story,” he said in the interview.
Hand has also worked with other directors in Hollywood, including James Cameron, according to the magazine.
In “Prometheus,” Hand helped Scott find a scientific reason for Earthlings being able to remove their helmets in a foreign atmosphere. He offered some possible explainations: radioactive decay or water electrolysis.
Read the full story at Fast Company.
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