Space experts challenge accuracy of The Martian

Space experts have challenged the accuracy of a science fiction film starring Matt Damon that depicts life on Mars for a stranded astronaut, claiming the movie is tainted by a few space oddities.

The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and due in cinemas next week, received extensive consultation from the US space agency, Nasa, to boost its scientific credentials.

In a line heard in the trailer, Damon’s character, botanist Mark Watney, faced with the challenge of surviving four years on Mars in a pod designed to last a month, declares he must “science the shit out of this” if he is to return to Earth. But John Logsdon, a former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, has flagged a black hole in a central plot development.

The storm that strands Damon’s character on Mars is presented as a hurricane-force blast with flying debris. But Logsdon claims the red planet’s thin atmosphere would reduce winds to barely a light breeze.

Logsdon has also questioned the impact the low gravity on Mars would have on the character’s ability to walk, suggesting he would hop rather than the normal Earth-like stroll depicted in the film. “They would not be walking normally - maybe more like hopping, as they did on the moon,” Logsdon is quoted as saying in the Sunday Times. “The sand storm is inaccurate too. The atmosphere is too thin for such a force. You would not feel winds no matter how fast they were.”

He said the effect high levels of radiation on Mars would have on Damon’s character was also missing from the film, which is based on Andy Weir’s novel. “The botanist might get very sick or, if he got home, die of cancer a year later,” he said.

The scientific accuracy of the movie has otherwise been praised. Scott Hubbard, professor at Stanford University in the department of aeronautics and astronautics, said the science behind Damon’s character growing food while awaiting rescue was credible.

The film also been applauded for its diverse cast, which as well as Damon, includes Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Michael Peña and Mackenzie Davis.