The Sci-fi Matt Damon starrer- ’The Martian’ ever since its release has been known for its realistic portrayal of space travel! The film, which is premiering on Star Movies this Sunday at9pm features Mark Watney
(Matt Damon) tells the story of an astronaut who is mistakenly left on Mars. Forced to survive on the red planet, he uses his wit to survive till his rescue. Being a Botanist and Mechanical Engineer himself, he uses the technologies which are available to him at his disposal.
The film makes it interesting because of the fact that space agency NASA themselves were consultants in the making of the film. Here are a look at how The Martian uses various developing techs as well as technology which already exist at NASA including the habitat, the plant farm, the spacesuit etc.
Habitat:
In the movie, Mark Watney spend extensive amount of time in the artificial living habitat ’the Hab’ which really exists as ‘Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)’ at the Johnson Space Center at NASA.
Plant farm:
In the film, as he was left with a meagre amount of food, Matt Damon uses unique means to plant potatoes to survive. In real life, a NASA astronaut has harvested lettuce grown from the Veggie experiment while on board the International Space Station.
Water recovery:
As Mars is a place where there is literally lack of water, the astronaut has to recycle every drops available. In the movie, Mark Watney creates water by combining hydrogen and oxygen which is similar to NASA’s water recovery system.
Oxygen Generation:
In the film, Mark Watney uses the “oxygenator,” a system that generates oxygen using the carbon dioxide from the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) fuel generator in his Hab. On the International Space Station, the astronauts use the Oxygen Generation System that helps in maintaining efficient and sustainable amount breathable air.
The Vehicle-
In "The Martian," the rover is shown at numerous moments throughout the film for which he uses as well to survive through unique means. On Earth as well, NASA has created a multi- mission specie vehicle to handle very encounter like the film’s rover!
Get a chance to experience life on Mars with premiere of “The Martian” on Star Movies on Sunday at 1pm & 9pm!
