The science of The Martian was actually incredibly respectable on the whole. Reviews, interviews and other media coverage this year have collectively uncovered a myriad of little details that are amazingly accurate to real world space travel. The rotating ring on the spaceship would absolutely have simulated gravity. The Martian soil could very well have been used to grow food, especially with a sprinkling of Matt Damons space sh*t. There was just one little occasion where they dropped the ball and, unfortunately, its kind of integral to the whole movie. One of the major differences between Earth and Mars that will make it tricky for us to colonise it in future is in its atmosphere. The air largely consists of carbon dioxide and is only about 1% as dense as the air on Earth; 0.6 kilopascals to our 101, if that means anything to any of you. This has some pretty big implications regarding Martian weather. The long and short of it is that a Martian storm is markedly different to one taking place on Earth. Essentially, the wind could probably only blow around very fine sand and dust. There wouldnt be any large lumps of rock being hurled through the air and you certainly wouldnt see any humans flying across the sky like Miss Gultch inside the Kansas twister. NASA Engineer Rob Manning claimed in an interview with Science Vs. Cinema that the wind has to be approximately 10 times stronger on Mars to have the same effects of wind on Earth. That is to say, in order to carry a human being into the air, Martian wind would have to approach speeds of 1000mph. Im afraid to say that in the real world, everyone made it back to the ship alive and well and there was one less exciting American hero survival story to be told.
Peter Austin initially joined WhatCulture as an occasional contributor to our Film, Gaming and Science sections, but made the mistake of telling us that he'd been making videos in his bedroom for over a decade. Since then he's been a vital member of our YouTube team and routinely sets the standard for smart-casual wear in the office.
