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HOW ACCURATE IS THE MARTIAN? A FEW THINGS THE MOVIE GOT RIGHT AND WRONG The dust storm Let’s get the big one out of the way nice and early: 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. Matt Damon stars as Mark Watney in The Martian. “The Martian” is already being heralded as one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi films of all time. We’ve seen the movie, and we’ve got to say, it’s amazing how far we’ve come since “Armageddon” (shudder). NASA has been so impressed, they’ve been using the movie as a marketing campaign for their own, actual manned missions to Mars in the 2030s. Based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, itself praised for its accuracy, director Ridley Scott asked NASA to check the film and ensure everything in it was correct – or as correct as can be. But just how did they do? Here we pick through the science in the movie, with the help of a few experts, to see if “The Martian” is deserving of its accolades. Be warned, though, there are some spoilers in this post. So if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie yet, continue at your own peril. This is probably the least scientific part of the movie. “Dust storms certainly do occur on Mars, they get winds in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h),” Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA headquarters and a consultant for the film, told IFLScience. “But a 100 mph wind on Mars, because the atmosphere is so thin, has the same inertia and dynamic pressure down at the surface as about an 11 mph (18 km/h) wind on Earth. It’s not going to have the sort of energy to move large objects the way that is portrayed in the book and the film.” To be fair, Andy Weir readily admits the dust storm was used simply to move the plot along and leave Mark Watney stranded on Mars. But hey, we’re not letting him get off scot-free. Fact or fiction? Fiction 42 THE CLAPPER 2015 - 2016