How Scientifically Accurate is The Martian?

Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian’ made waves as one of the biggest sci-fi films of the decade. The concept of living on Mars fascinated viewers, not to mention the space science community. But how accurate was the depiction of Mark Watney’s experience on the Red Planet?

Scientifically precise in some respects, and wildly inaccurate in others, The Martian offered viewers a fascinating glimpse at the chemical, geological and meteorological complications of living on Mars. In nine cases, it was even recognised by NASA for its scientific accuracy.

The good, the bad and the delusional

First up is Watney’s attempt to repair a pressure leak that causes one of his habitat pods to blow up. He patches the hole using plastic tarp and duct tape, which could work in a real-life situation however in the windy, atmospherically dense scenario that Weir and Scott created, it wouldn’t have lasted more than a few hours.

Martian radiation is another issue, which would’ve exposed astronauts to harmful solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays. As Watney lives on Mars for over 500 sola (Martian days) he would have been exposed to more than 15 times the maximum dosage nuclear power plant workers are supposed to endure. While there are a myriad of ways to protect astronauts from radiation, The Martian never references any defensive techniques.

When it comes to botany, The Martian was impressively accurate. Experiments have shown that Martian soil would be capable of supporting crops, with human waste used as an organic fertiliser.

Availability of oxygen wasn’t quite as believable, with sceptics maintaining that Watney may not have has access to enough oxygen to stay alive for over 500 sols.

Colourful interpretations for the sake of entertainment

Another question was raised in the form of the fierce windstorm that swept Watney away from his fellow crew members. This set the story in motion, however in reality Mars’ atmosphere is just 1% as dense as planet Earth’s, meaning it simply wouldn’t be capable of conjuring up such furious winds.

Explaining his narrative, author Andy Weir said, “I needed a way to force the astronauts off the planet, so I allowed myself some leeway. Plus, I thought the storm would be pretty cool.”

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Image via Flickr Creative Commons. Photo credits: NASA HQ Photo