Imagine being alone and stranded for more than a year.

Now imagine you're alone and stranded on Mars.

That's the premise for the The Martian, a science-fiction best-seller written by former computer programmer Andy Weir and soon to be released as a movie starring Matt Damon. The Martian tells the story of NASA astronaut Mark Watney who must improvise with the tools and technology he has on hand to survive until, and if, the space agency can send a spacecraft to rescue him.

The movie, which will be released Oct. 2, merges science fiction with actual science about Mars, technology that NASA is working on and the space agency's plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s.

Jim Adams, NASA's deputy chief technologist, who has read the book, said he was impressed with the way the author represented the science and means of survival on Mars. "It stimulated a lot of my thinking about what we are doing and our plans on getting to Mars in the 2030s with humans."

According to scientists at NASA, they already are developing many of the technologies that appear in the film.

Here's a look at some of them.