The Martian: Movie Review

Introduction

The movie Martian was made as NASA wants the world to know that putting

boots on Mars is not just a sci-fi dream. The space agency has been helping

promote the new film "The Martian as a way to publicize its own plans to send

astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s. "The evolution of a Martian starts

with our science — starts with our ground-truth that we get from our rovers —

and it builds up to human exploration," were the words of Jim Green, director

of NASA's Planetary Science division during an event focusing on "The Martian"

and the space agency's Red Planet plans.

A former computer programmer named Andy Weir, who enjoyed writing for its

own sake and posted fiction to his blog, started a serial about a NASA astronaut

stranded on Mars. The popularity ultimately led him to turn it into a successful

novel, “The Martian”, which has been made into a movie that will be released in

October 2015.

“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, when NASA astronauts are regularly traveling to Mars

and living on the surface to explore. Although the action takes place 20 years in

the future, NASA is already developing many of the technologies that appear in

the film.

Movie vs reality

NASA is working on a number of different fronts to make a crewed Mars

mission happen.

1. Astronaut Mark Watney grows potatoes on Mars in The Martian movie.

In the NASA: Astronauts recently grew lettuce aboard the ISS — and ate it

as well — as part of an experiment called "Veggie." The long-term goal of

such projects is to make voyaging astronauts less dependent on Earth.

2. The spacesuit worn by astronauts in the film allows them to work and

function on the surface of Mars, while protecting them from the harsh

environment.

In the NASA: Prototypes of our Z-2 Exploration Suit are helping to develop

the technologies astronauts will use to live and work on the the Martian

surface. Technology advances in this next generation spacesuit would

shorten preparation time, improve safety and boost astronaut capabilities

during spacewalks and surface activities.

3. The characters in the film are able to cruise around the Red Planet inside

the Mars Decent Vehicle (MDV).

In the NASA: We are currently developing a next generation vehicle for

space exploration. Our Mars Exploration Vehicle (MEV) is designed to be

flexible depending on the destination. It will have a pressurized cabin,

ability to house two astronauts for up to 14 days and will be about the size

of a pickup truck.

4. The artificial living habitat on Mars in The Martian movie is constructed of

industrial canvas and contains an array of life support systems.

In the NASA: The Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), formerly

known as the Deep Space Habitat, is a three-story module that was

designed and created through a series of university competitions. Studies

conducted in habitat mockups will allow us to evolve this technology to

create a reliable structures for use on Mars.

5. In the movie, Mission Control operations support the Aries 3 crew.

In the NASA: On our real journey to Mars, Mission Control in Houston will

support our Orion spacecraft and the crew onboard as they travel into deep

space.

6. In the film, the astronauts depart the Red Planet using a propulsion system

that we know as the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV).

In the NASA: NASA is also developing a crew capsule called Orion and the

Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket to help get astronauts to, and from,

distant destinations such as Mars. Orion aced its first uncrewed test flight

last December, and the SLS is scheduled to make its maiden voyage in 2018.

7. The Martian movie launches astronauts on the Aries missions from a

refurbished and state of the art space center.

In the NASA: Currently, the Ground Systems Development and Operations’

primary objective is to prepare the center to process and launch the next-

generation vehicles and spacecraft designed to achieve our goals for space

exploration. We are not only working to develop new systems, but also

refurbishing and upgrading infrastructure to meet future demands.

8. In the film, Astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on the Red Planet.

In the NASA: In preparation for sending humans to Mars, we have

completed one of the most extensive isolation missions in Hawaii, known as

HI-SEAS. The goal of this study was to see how isolation and the lack of

privacy in a small group affects social aspects

Facts about mars depicted in the movie

1. Mars has a reddish-orange glow during the day from all the dust.

2. Sunrises and sunsets appear blue because Mars has almost no

atmosphere.

3. One Martian year is nearly two Earth years. That's because Mars orbits

the Sun much farther away than Earth, so it takes a lot longer for the red

planet to complete one lap.

4. The average surface temperature on Mars is a chilly minus-80 degrees

Fahrenheit. But temperatures can swing from a low of about minus-195

degrees Fahrenheit in winter, to a comfortable 68 degrees Fahrenheit

during the summer.

5. Gravity on Mars is only about 40% that of Earth's, so you'd be 60%

lighter (but not moon-bouncing light).

6. Mars has barely any atmosphere — about 1% of the density of the cozy

atmospheric blanket around Earth. That's hardly enough to protect the

surface from dangerous space radiation.

7. One solar day on Mars, called a "sol," is about 40 minutes longer than

an Earth day

8. The tent-like shelter Watney spends most of his time inside is called a

"hab" — short for Mars Lander habitat.

9. Mars is so distant that it takes 15 to 20 minutes for a message sent from

Earth to make it to there.

10. Mars has tornadoes in the form of dust devils, whirlwinds that whip up

debris on the surface.

Inaccuracies in the martian

1. The dust storm that sets everything in motion at the start of the movie is

not accurate. Although Mars does get dust storms, the atmospheric

pressure is so low that the wind is negligible, although the dust itself can

be harmful.

2. Watney moves in an Earth-like manner on Mars, but in reality the Red

Planet has about 30% of the gravity our own planet has, meaning

movement would be a little different. The most efficient way to walk on

Mars will be a gait somewhere between a shuffle and a hop.

3. Everyone would be harmed of cancer due to excessive radiation on mars

but in the movie this fact is not considered.

4. The method of Watney’s rescue is also scientifically implausible. To

intercept the ship coming to rescue him, he cuts a hole in his spacesuit

so that the escaping pressure will propel him towards the waiting crew.

In reality, this maneuver could not possibly have gone as shown. Instead,

the vacuum of space would have pulled on Watney’s hand to plug the

hole. Or, as is likely, the suit would have been so depressurized by the

release of gas that Watney would have been deprived of oxygen. Left to

face the harsh vacuum, he would have had only 10 seconds of

consciousness and around a minute left to live.

5. Martian soil has perchlorates, a type of salt that’s hazardous to the

human body. The perchlorates would either make it more difficult for

plants to grow, or would make the plants toxic.