The Martian review – Matt Damon shines as stranded astronaut
Director Ridley Scott makes the most of an excellent script and a first-rate star for a scintillating sci-fi trip to the red planet
Overall it’s a very good movie, and while there are mistakes in it, it is the first genuine Mars movie. It is the first movie that attempts to be realistic about human beings grappling with the problems of exploring Mars, as opposed to various movies set on Mars that are essentially horror films with inaccurate “science”. However, there are a number of technical mistakes.
The storm: Scientifically speaking, this is completely impossible, as opposed to improbable or sub-optimal. The Martian atmosphere is only 1% as thick as Earth’s, so a Mars wind of 100mph, which although possible is quite rare on the surface of the “red planet.” A Mars wind of 100mph would only have the same dynamic force as a 10mph wind on Earth. You could fly a kite in it, but it wouldn’t knock you down.
That aside most other issues could actually pass as fact, the directors definitely did their research.
The “Spaceship”: The diameter of the spacecraft and the spin or rate of rotation on the Mars Orbiter spacecraft looked about accurate to create an artificial gravity level for that position in space, so that was OK.
Gravity: Mars has about one third the gravity of Earth, a 90kg person with a 120kg suit will feel 140kgs lighter on Mars – lighter than the person alone on Earth. Theoretically they should have been “running like superman.”
Making water: Matt Damon’s character took hydrazine from the rocket fuel and dissociated it into nitrogen and hydrogen, which you can do, and he burned the hydrogen with oxygen to make water. That’ll certainly work, but if I was stranded on Mars I would just make water out of the soil. Water is available in its natural state on Mars as ice, permafrost, or soaked into the soil. That sounds very geeky but it is quite straightforward. Because mars is farther from the sun than earth, surface temperatures differ. As a result the presence of frozen water in the soil is more than just theorized but has been proved by the previous probes and rovers sent to Mars.
There are many more interesting assertions that were made in the movie The Martian. Watch it for yourself and build your opinion. Science fiction or science fact?
