Bálna Budapest
Filmed as NASA space centre
📍 Fővám tér 11-12, 1093 Budapest (Pest bank of the Danube, next to the Great Market Hall), Budapest, Hungary
Scene breakdown
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NASA space centre
2015The modern Danube-side building doubles for the NASA complex where agency chiefs run the effort to bring Watney home.
Teddy Sanders Vincent Kapoor
Real-world history
Dutch architect Kas Oosterhuis wrapped a curved glass-and-steel shell, nicknamed the Whale, around restored 19th-century riverside warehouses; it opened in 2013 as a cultural, events and dining venue. In The Martian its futuristic look stood in for NASA's space centre on Earth.
Logistics & accessibility
Admission: The riverside exterior and terraces can be seen freely at any time. The building now operates as the Bálna Honvédelmi Központ (a defence and military history centre) with restaurants on the ground floor; check the current schedule and any exhibition fees before visiting.
Parking & accessibility: Little parking at the site; use public transport (metro M4 Fővám tér, or tram 2 along the Danube) or nearby paid garages.
Best time to visit: Evening, when the glass shell is lit and reflects on the Danube; combine with a daytime visit to the Great Market Hall next door.
What else to see here
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Müpa Budapest
Stood in for the Chinese space agency building.
Arts centre
About 2 km south along the Danube (tram 2)