Fictional universe of Avatar

Pandora's atmosphere is a mix of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, xenon, methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, the latter three of which are unbreathable for humans, who wear Exo-Packs when outside their buildings or vehicles.

The Na'vi have special organs (similar to kidneys) called wichow that take advantage of this atmosphere to extract greater amounts of oxygen for their bloodstream.

Much of the fiction takes place on the world of Pandora, which with a biodiversity of bioluminescent species ranging from six-legged animals to other types of exotic fauna and flora.

The Pandoran ecology forms a vast biological neural network spanning the entire lunar surface into which the Na'vi and other creatures can connect.

Page drew on his education in automotive design, recognizing the irony that race cars were based on real-life animals in having "bone lines".

[12] In the Avatar universe (set in the year 2154), humans have achieved a very technologically advanced, post-industrial society ruled/dominated by powerful corporations and industries.

[13] Known RDA personnel on Pandora include head administrator Parker Selfridge, Colonel Miles Quaritch, Private Sean Fike, Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, Dr. Max Patel, Dr. Grace Augustine, Dr.

According to Jake, one of the main characters, the Earth is a "dying world" where humans have "killed their mother", suggesting that there is very little, if any, functioning natural ecosystem left.

The planet has also suffered serious natural and man-made disasters, such as an intra-continental conflict and tsunamis hitting the east and west coasts of the United States.

[14] Concept artist Ryan Church based many drawings on aerodynamic research from previously classified NASA and DARPA technical papers.

Unlike the movie Aliens which employed one drop ship from de-orbit to ground combat, several vehicles cover specific roles of utility transport, gunship, and base resupply.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly writes, "Cameron turns Pandora into a vertiginously suspended forest landscape ... Jake and the sexy tribal princess Neytiri (Zoë Saldana) wow us with their fluid, prancing movements, but there's no subtext to their smoothly virtual faces.

"[15] Carol Kaesuk Yoon of the New York Times wrote that Avatar "has recreated what is the heart of biology: the naked, heart-stopping wonder of really seeing the living world".

"[17] In February 2010, CNN published an article exploring the "Avatar science" (the technology linking the human mind to a remotely controlled body).