“The Martian” is a sci-fi hit but where do they separate the science from fiction?
“The Martian” scored well at the box office and we agree that it’s well deserved. It is an amazing film from Ridley Scott and highly entertaining. With that said, there are aspects of this film that some sci-fi enthusiasts (like myself) question as being either fact or fiction. While some elements may be fact and some are fiction, this factual examination in no way discredits “The Martian.” In fact, the inquisitive desire related to “The Martian” further supplements the intrigue and allure that surrounds the film. So let’s expand our minds as we dive deeper into the true and not-so-true aspects of “The Martian.”
BE WARNED. THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS BELOW.
Growing Food on Mars:
Mark Watney determines that he has to master agriculture by growing food on Mars, a planet where seemingly nothing grows. While he simplifies the process by hauling in some Martian soil and fertilizing with human fecal matter, it raises the question of whether or not this process would work.
According to NASA the solution is a bit more complex than conveyed in “The Martian.” In the research done thus far NASA’s main concerns are gravity and adequate lighting. On the International Space Station they have discovered that plants can grow in very weak gravity known as microgravity but the gravity on Mars is only 37.5% as powerful as the gravity on Earth. The solution to this would be to create a pressurized greenhouse like they did in “The Martian” but then comes the second problem which is lighting.
Growing plants in a pressurized environment creates problems when it comes to sunlight as the enclosure would further block the already reduced sunlight that Mars receives (about half the sunlight of Earth). NASA has been researching optimization of LED lights to supplement plants’ needs but that type of light would also require an adequate amount of power.
To accommodate for the power consumption NASA’s plans would be to create a greenhouse that is pressurized at only 10% of Earth’s pressure. This would mean the “farmers” would need to be farming in suits in order to handle the pressure change which could prove to be difficult.
Finally it comes down to resilient and adequately consumable vegetables. Mark Watney uses potatoes as his main source of nourishment and while they are a rather resilient vegetables, they aren’t on NASA’s primary list of vegetables for growing on Mars. It’s not proven that potatoes wouldn’t be an adequate crop for Martian agriculture but according to NASA lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, radishes, bell peppers, strawberries, fresh herbs and cabbages are the first choices on their list. It’s interesting that “The Martian” chose potatoes over any of those other foods.
Fiction: Growing food on Mars is possible, but all of the conditions in the film don’t add up.
Radiation on Mars:
Not once do they mention the issue of exposure to radiation on Mars. The atmosphere is thinner and offers less protection from the sun which could cause an issue for any astronaut on the planet’s surface.
If a Mars mission were to happen today, an extended trip to and stay on the planet would expose astronauts to an amount of radiation over the current set limit by NASA. NASA allows for just under 1 sieverts of radiation exposure for an astronaut’s career. A 180-day trip and 500-day stay on Mars would expose astronauts to 1.01 sieverts of radiation based on measurements by Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument indicate. This type of exposure is 15 times the limit of nuclear power plant workers. This type of exposure would increase one’s risk for fatal cancer by roughly 5% which they did not touch on in “The Martian” but Mark Watney could have had troubles in later years.
Fact: With proper shielding, he could survive with unknown long-term effects.
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The Journey to the Mission Landing Site:
In “The Martian,” Watney has to make a 3200 mile journey to a planned landing site on Mars in a rover vehicle. In order to do this, the solution is to drive to the site while making intermittent stops to recharge the batteries with solar panels.
Storing food and water could pose a problem due to an inadequate amount of space but since we don’t know the dimensions of the rover vehicle, we can assume that NASA engineers could resolve an issue of storage. As far as preservation of food goes, NASA has had a handle on this for quite some time so overall food and water consumption wouldn’t necessarily be a major problem for this journey.
Based on the much smaller (real-life) Mars rover that was sent to explore the planet and send back pictures, solar power was not an adequate power source for extended use. They had to use a nuclear power source to sustain the journey of the vehicle.
There are some factors that come into play with the oversized, manned vehicle that Watney drives that could make the extended battery life more fact than fiction. For one, the multiple solar panels that he is carrying could be an amplified power source but the weather conditions of Mars come into play. For NASA to rely on purely solar power, they stated that the rover would need to travel along the equator for optimal sunlight. Despite the amount of solar panels Watney carries with him, this makes the power source for his journey questionable but there is one other solution that could have come into play.
Early on in the film, Mark Watney speaks of being cold in the rover and digs up a plutonium power cell to use as a heating source. He never mentions whether or not he removes the plutonium cell (and stays heated so we assume he hasn’t) so he could have used it as a power source in addition to the solar power cells.
Fact: Based on the real-life Mars rover life and the possibilities for power at Watney’s disposal.
Launching From Mars without Windows:
Towards the end of the film Mark Watney is forced to launch into space from a vessel that has essentially been “gutted” to reduce weight. While stripping the vessel of weight, he also removes the windows which proves to be a concern but he is assured that he will be fine due to Mars’ atmosphere.
This is actually true. When entering or exiting Earth’s atmosphere, many of us are familiar with things burning or heating up. This is not as much due to the heat of Earth’s atmosphere as it is due to the density. The density causes friction which in turn causes heat and causes things to burn up.
Mars has a very thin atmosphere which means a lot less friction. In turn, this means the chances of Watney surviving the take off without windows are pretty good. His spacesuit should have provided a minimal amount of protection to shield him from exiting the Mars atmosphere and outer space survival for the short duration of the rescue.
Fact: The thin Mars atmosphere should reduce the friction on the craft.
Mark Watney’s Iron Man Maneuver:
At the end of the film the Hermes is at a significant distance from Watney’s spacecraft. Commander Lewis straps on a jet propulsion suit attached to a cable to attempt to grab Watney. When she can’t reach the distance, Watney’s solution is to puncture the glove of his suit to push himself towards her which he relates to being Iron Man.
Commander Lewis’ jet propulsion suit is in fact real. It is called a Extravehicular Mobility Unit or EMU for short. It uses nitrogen blasts that allow the suit to act like a jet pack in space and has primarily been used for space walks for repairs. Her use of this suit is used almost exactly in the same way that real life astronauts use the suit.
Watney’s plan on the other hand is surrounded by a bit of uncertainty. In theory, the idea of depressurization could propel him forward with a minimal push in the zero gravity environment that is space. But the ability to control that propulsion and the amount of push it would provide is definitely questionable.
The other problem with Watney’s plan is the suit itself. The suit is designed in an independently compartmental layout which would allow for sections of the suit to be punctured in areas where an astronaut could survive. There was even a case where a real-life astronaut’s glove was punctured and after a bit of compression swelling in his hand, he made a full recovery. The biggest problem Watney would face would not be survival but being able to puncture the suit itself. The suit is composed of several layers made from materials such as Dacron, Teflon, Nylon, Polyester, and even Kevlar. For Watney to puncture the suit, he would need some incredible force to get through that type of material.
Fiction: There are too many variables working against Mark.
“The Martian” isn’t intended to be an entirely factual account of experiences on Mars. It’s a film that was made for audiences to enjoy and it holds true to its purpose. It’s fun to analyze and question but remember to enjoy the film first to get the full cinematic experience.
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