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
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THE CLAPPER 2015 - 2016