Not the Book, There Are Some Difference Between Theme

By Petrőcz Jonatán (Gedeon)

How realistic is „The Martian” (Not the book, there are some difference between theme)

1. He controls himself in space by puncturing one of his gloves, so the air goes out - Maybe (rather false/fiction): It is hard to decide if it is possible or not, we should try it if we want to know, but it is very-very risky, and it is not worth it. First, it would be hard to puncture an astronaut’s glove just by hand. These astronaut suits are designed to be very massive. Second, a hole in the suit is extremely dangerous, it lets out the oxygen and the heat very fast, and the decompression is very high, so it would squeeze him till he dies. That is why an astronaut in a situation like that has only a few minutes, about 2 or 3. In this period he must enter the spaceship, where he is safe. Of course in the spaceship he can change his suit. But in the space it is not just like ’Ok, let’s move to the spaceship’, because to move in space is very hard. But do not forget, that the NASA always improves the suit, and it is not clear to me if this movie is in the present or in the future. If I remember well, it is in 2020. If so, it may be possible. But just a very small hole is acceptable, otherwise he dies on the spot. An action like this „ironman” action is so unlikely that to fly where you want is very complicated. The astronauts are not trained for actions like that, because it is almost impossible to survive it. The first fly would be like Ironman’s first flight in the Marvel movie. He could not control himself. So this part of the story is very unlikely, rather impossible. Actually in the book it does not happen, just in the movie. In fact, there is only one document about a punctured spacesuit in space. A stone punctured an astronaut’s glove, but it was so strong that it stayed in the glove, so nothing happened and he was not hurt, what is more, he did not even notice it. Just after they arrived back to the Earth they noticed that.

2. Close the huge hole with a foil tent what is fixed with duck tape - True/fact: When his accomodation blew up, he closed the huge hole with the material of a foil tent, that was fixed with duct tape. This „door” (where he could not enter or exit) kept him alive. But is it realistic that the foil tent with duct tape can do that? An astronaut in the space has the best quality equipment, including the duct-tape and the foil tent. As we know, this material lets the sunshine in, and keeps it inside. Plus the home is heated, so not just the Sun heats it. Of course it is not the best insulator, but it is good. Generally this method is used for greenhouses, which is a strong and good proof . The duck tape is „just” for fixing it, it doesn’t have any other function.

3. Tornadoes on Mars - True/fact: The atmosphere is thin on Mars, but it can form „tornadoes”. There are whirlwinds that whip up dust and debris on the surface. They can be half a mile tall, but they are wispy, so they are not as dramatic as in the movie. Actually these are rather dust storms, big dust devils that fast winds create. Tiny storms which look like tornadoes.

4. Farming on Mars By Petrőcz Jonatán (Gedeon)

- True/fact: What is necessary for growing potato? For example: oxygen, water, gravity (unless the water can’t flow down to the root), a closed area for that (for saving water, so there’ll steam), an acceptable soil. Let’s start with oxygen. There is a limited amount of oxygen in his Home, and it is enough for the first few plants. Later there will be more oxygen because these plants exhales more and more oxygen. Water: Matt Damon (Mark Whatney) solved it with nitrogen, and he lit it and it became water. It is very dangerous, because if you do not measure the assume of the water or the nitrogen correctly, there can be an explosion. What is more, there is another and much easier way: the Mars contains ice under the surface, he just have to dig it up. In fact the NASA already found even liquid water on the surface of Mars. So it is even easier that way than what we can see in the movie. Gravity: Actually there is much less gravity, but there is gravity. And it is the strongest near the surface, and it is enough for planting. Closed area: In the movie Matt Damon encircled the planting area with foil tent, and the whole planting area was inside the home, what is reasonable. An acceptable soil: Matt Damon used as fertilizer what he and his colleagues (who were already gone) „made” during the expedition. He put the plants into these „home made” fetilizer, and he dug these mixes in the soil. But do not forget, that the Mars has frozen water and the soil contains nitrate, which is a great „fertilizer”, and with so much nitrate he may not needed all that „home made” fertilizer.

5. Would duct tape solve the problem of a cracked helmet - True/fact: An astronaut in the space has the best quality equipment, including the duct-tape. His helmet had had a crack, and the oxygen went out fast and the pressure difference was growing. This tape can solve it for a while, until he changes the helmet (he had some more helmets what his colleagues left behind). The duct-tape needed to be longer and wider than the crack with 2 layer. Duck tape is better than nothing.

6. Is the strong dust storm realistic - False/fiction: „Even hurricane-force wind on Mars is going to feel like having paper balls thrown at you” (-Fred Calef, NASA’s geologist). Mars does get dust storms, but the atmospheric pressure is so low that the wind cannot be strong. Only the dust itself can be harmful, but not the strength of the storm. A storm stronger than 160 km/h is very rare, but because of the thin atmosphere it would be like a 18 km/h strong wind on Earth. It is not strong enough to move large objects like in the movie. So it is not accurate.

Sources: - Just how scientifically accurate is ’The Martian’? - www.techinsider.io/the-martian-reviewed-by-astronauts-scientists-2015-9 - www.iflscience.com/space/how-accurate-martian-9-things-movie-got-right-and-wrong - journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103138 - blog.syngenta.hu/2015/10/08/termeszthetunk-e-krumplit-a-marson/ - www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a17470/the-martian-growing-potatoes- mars/ - https://www.quora.com - „EMBER A HOLDON” (book)