One of the film's best strengths is that it is based on what we know about the landscape and atmosphere of Mars right at this point in time. It's a desert planet with water and no life as we know it. Compared to what Matt Damon has to go through, Robinson Crusoe was on that tropical isle for a picnic.
Although Mars does get dust storms, the atmospheric pressure is so low that the wind is negligible, although the dust itself can be harmful. Andy Weir admits the dust storm was used simply to move the plot along and leave Mark Watney stranded on Mars.
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.
Although Weir initially distributed The Martian for free, he ultimately was pressured to release it on Amazon as a complete ebook, which he sold for just 99 cents. It became an Amazon bestseller. Weir found himself being courted by literary agents, and the rest is history.
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.
Fans of The Martian will point out here that it's not necessarily the prose they love, but the concept, the humor, and the problem-solving aspect. Yes, the premise of the book—an astronaut stranded on Mars who has to use his wits and all the science at his disposal to survive—is original and compelling.
What does the dust storm symbolize in The Martian?
The dust storm that Watney must circumnavigate on his way to Schiaparelli represents the danger of the unknown. Watney does not notice when he enters the storm, and the further he drives into the storm…
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.
Mark Watney : [recording a video message] If the oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the hab breaches, I'll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
How many times is the F word used in The Martian book?
Great Book.
I loved almost everything about this book, but it's definitely not appropriate for 14 year olds like Common Sense recommends. There are at least 100 "F" words and numerous other profanities.
There is the plausible science (using rocket fuel as a source for water) and the downright impossible fiction (Mars sandstorms are not strong enough to cause damage. They're more like gentle breezes.). So while the overall Martian scenario may be fictional, the science in COLL 150 is very real.
Are there any inappropriate scenes in The Martian?
This movie is touching, moving, funny, suspenseful, and full of real science. It's a must watch for everyone! Be advised, there are a few F words and brief nudity from the back (but only to show how skinny the main character has become).
The Martian was as realistic as the author knew how to make it. But he did get several things wrong. Martian windstorms are not as powerful as depicted. While they have really high velocity, the atmosphere is closer to a vacuum than anything else.
The least plausible thing about the story was the force of Martian winds -- at less than 1% of Earth atmospheric pressure, even a big storm on Mars wouldn't lift anything other than the finest grains of dust. Both the initial accident and the flapping of the makeshift hab repair job make no sense given that fact.
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.
Originally Answered: How long was mark watney on Mars? Mark Watney was on Mars for 549 sols, which comes out to about 564 days. (A Martian sol is about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day.) So, approximately 18 months.
A Chicago native, Watney attended the University of Chicago for his undergrad before moving on to Northwestern University where he earned a Ph. D. in Plant Biology and Conservation with an emphasis in hydropedology and environmental engineering.
Well, a lot of rocks on Mars are full of iron, and when they're exposed to the great outdoors, they 'oxidize' and turn reddish - the same way an old bike left out in the yard gets all rusty. When rusty dust from those rocks gets kicked up in the atmosphere, it makes the martian sky look pink.
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.
Martians are afraid of fire, the fire phobia was planted by Guardians of the Universe because they were afraid of the Martian race, if they eventually invented space travel they could take over or destroy the entire Universe.
One step at a time. Right at the end of the movie, Wattney gives a class and says something along the lines of: 'You just keep solving one problem and then the next and then the next. Eventually if you get to solve enough problems you can come home.
Around 2009, nights spent reading up on NASA's latest discoveries prompted him to devise a faux-mission to Mars. He eventually extrapolated these concepts into The Martian, a problem-solving thriller with the prose of a Michael Critchton novel and the heart of a Reddit thread.
