This is a Radioisotope Thermometric Generator, which is a big box filled with plutonium-238. It is usually buried 4KM fromThe Hab with a flag (green in the book, yellow in the movie) to make sure people don't go close to it and avoid getting any type of cancer (which is unlikely even if the casing was to break).
Watney finds a creative solution to stay warm on frigid Mars using a power system called an RTG -- a radioisotope thermoelectric generator -- a "space battery" that converts heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 into reliable electrical power.
An RTG contains approximately 4.8 kilograms of plutonium-238 dioxide and works by transforming the heat from the decay of the radioactive isotope into electricity. It is an ideal power source for missions that are too far from the sun to use solar power. It's also an ideal way for Watney to keep warm.
At one point in the film Watney digs up a radioactive thermoelectric generator, or RTG, from a shallow hole, buried there because it contains plutonium. The unit is used on flyby missions as a power source, and also keeps instruments warm at operating temperature, according to Williamson.
Due to Mars' low atmospheric pressure, the effective wind pressure in martian wind storms is much lower than shown in the movie, very unlikely to be sufficient to tip a spacecraft. Also, the wind on Mars is much too weak to carry large rocks.
The most unrealistic thing about the film “The Martian” is the only unrealistic thing about it: the dust storm at the beginning. Dust storms on Mars cannot get strong enough to cause those kinds of problems.
Why couldn t Mark grow more potatoes in The Martian?
Airlock Breach. When Airlock 1 breached, causing a gaping hole in The Hab, the potatoes were freeze dried and the bacteria in the soil assumed dead. Because of this Mark was unable to grow any more potatoes and could only eat the ones he still had with him.
There's the explosion while he was trying to make water from rocket fuel. The damage to his body came from a combination of factors. Spacesuits are harsh on the body. NASA astronauts quite often lose their fingernails from wearing a spacesuit just for eight hours.
In the story, astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon in the movie), survives being stranded on Mars by growing potatoes—using his own feces for fertilizer.
This is a Radioisotope Thermometric Generator, which is a big box filled with plutonium-238. It is usually buried 4KM fromThe Hab with a flag (green in the book, yellow in the movie) to make sure people don't go close to it and avoid getting any type of cancer (which is unlikely even if the casing was to break).
The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from the 2011 novel of the same name by Andy Weir. The film depicts an astronaut's struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind and NASA's efforts to return him to Earth.
A Mars solar day has a mean period of 24 hours 39 minutes 35.244 seconds, and is customarily referred to as a "sol" in order to distinguish this from the roughly 3% shorter solar day on Earth.
Before then, he needs to modify the rovers, turning one into a trailer so that he can carry the “Big Three”—the atmospheric regulator, oxygenator, and water reclaimer—with him.
Bruce Ng is an Asian-American man who is the Director of JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in California. He was the leader of the team that made the Iris I and the Iris II resupply probes as well as being present during the 'Project Elrond' meeting. Bruce Ng in Time magazine with some Chinese engineers from CNSA.
The Hab, short for "The Mars Lander Habitat", are a series of artificial living quarters that were constructed shortly after the Ares III manned mission to Mars landed. It is designed to house six astronauts for 31 Martian Days (Sols).
In The Martian, when Watney accidentally exposes his farm to Mars's cold temperatures, his potato plants freeze to death almost instantly. As mentioned earlier, Mars's open air is just too cold for plants to survive.
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.
It's made very clear that a potato only diet would sustain you for longer than nothing, but you wouldn't be healthy. Mark had 400 days of rations as well, which he spread out to supplement his potato diet. He also had a lot of vitamins and other supplements to help with his nutrition.
NASA sent potatoes to Mars with the Ares crew. They were supposed to be used for a Thanksgiving meal. As it turned out, they would end up having a much different fate. The potatoes kept stranded astronaut Mark Watney alive until he could be rescued by the crew that accidentally abandoned him.
Given that the Hermes originally left Mars on sol 18 of their mission, Mark spent 531 sols by himself on Mars. In other words, Mark Watney was left alone on Mars for 546 Earth days.
However, many studies done, and much of scientific research would suggest that Mark Watney could not have survived alone on Mars waiting for the Hermes to rescue him because the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive effects of isolation on an individual are too significant.
The hero, Mark Watney, an astronaut given up for dead by NASA, uses a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), a sort-of "space battery," to keep warm during his trek across Mars.
In “The Martian,” Damon's character, astronaut Mark Watney, produces water by burning leftover rocket fuel and extracts the hydrogen from the resulting chemical reaction.
