“The Martian” won’t hit theaters for another month, but the movie is already being hailed as this year’s “Interstellar.” Andy Weir’s fast-paced sci-fi novel -- on which the movie is based -- has won accolades from NASA for its technical accuracy. And now, its cinematic adaptation has managed to rope in American cosmologist Neil deGrasse Tyson -- described as “the most powerful nerd in the universe” -- for its viral marketing campaign.

In a video released Friday, Tyson talks about the upcoming Ares 3 mission to the red planet in the style of the recent “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” series. The nearly four-minute video focuses on the world in which the sci-fi drama takes place, providing viewers information about how “back in 2029” humankind’s dream to land on Mars came true.

“This is the story of Ares. Our greatest adventure,” Tyson says, in the video, which runs more like a Cosmos episode from the future than a movie’s promotional video. “Our adventure is just beginning.”

The movie, directed by the “Alien” and “Blade Runner” director Ridley Scott, follows astronaut Mark Watney -- played by Matt Damon -- as he struggles to survive after being presumed dead and left behind on Mars by the crew of the Ares 3 mission.

NASA scientists and engineers have served as technical consultants for the film, which the space agency said portrays a realistic view of the climate and topography of Mars.

“‘The Martian’ merges the fictional and factual narratives about Mars, building upon the work NASA and others have done exploring Mars and moving it forward into the 2030s,” NASA said, in a statement released last week.

“The Martian,” which also stars Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sean Bean, is set to release on Oct. 2.

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