'Who comes back from Mars:' Is reality or just fiction?

The scientist headed by one of NASA's departments commented: from a scientific standpoint it is mostly true, however, some details are still exaggerated.

Who comes back from Mars: Is it reality?

Have you seen Ridley Scott's blockbuster sci-fi movie "The Return From Mars" ? Matt Damon wanders alone on the red planet with astronaut costumes, enduring sandstorms but still tries to grow potatoes on a dry ground! Doug Ming, a scientist headed by one of NASA's departments, commented: "From a scientific point of view, I think most of it is a realm " - he started, 'however, a few The fact is still exaggerated . '

What does Mars really look like?

In the film:

As we know, scenes on 'Mars' were actually shot in Jordan. Of course, people have to use techniques, so viewers don't doubt that Matt Damon is actually walking the majestic hills of the red planet.

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Ming said that there are now two self-propelled vehicles on the surface of Mars that humanity has images of Mars."Mars is a very volatile planet. Now we find out that Mars is the largest volcano ever known in the solar system," he said. "There is also a valley with a length. equal to the east coast to the west of the United States " . Scientist notes: every landscape on Mars is very large and majestic, not anywhere on earth can match. He concluded: filmmakers did a great job of showing us a 'real' Mars .

Can you really grow potatoes on Mars?

In the film:

No time to explain! Matt Damon only had to create irrigation systems that could grow potatoes.

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Doug Ming received his Ph.D. in soil science at the University of Texas in 1985. He thinks that this is not surprising."30 years ago, when I just started working at NASA, I had anticipated this," said Dr. Ming. He argued that it was crucial to put the land on Mars in "control conditions" . However, only water is not enough. In order to grow plants, some nutrients are needed in the soil, especially nitrogen .

Using human feces to fertilize plants?

Is it okay to use raw manure to fertilize potatoes?

In the film:

To apply potatoes, Matt Damon uses human feces, stored in solid form at low temperature from the toilet system of the base. This is the source of nitrogen!

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"If I stay on Mars under such conditions, I will do the same" - Ming agrees with the film director.

He notes that on Earth we don't use such direct fertilizer because there are many pathogens in the stool."We compost for a long time to eliminate the pathogens before we use them as fertilizer. But if there is no condition - using live manure to fertilize is also true. Even in human urine. also high in nitrogen " - the scientist concluded.

But where does the water come from?

In the film:

Finding water on Mars is not that simple. According to the information provided by NASA from the Curiosity probe, water is located below the surface of the planet. So what did Matt Damon do? To get water for potatoes, astronauts built a water production system directly by burning oxygen from the base's life support system with hydrogen from the spacecraft's remnants in response. Basic chemistry: 2H ₂ + O ₂ = 2H ₂ O.

So there is water!

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"Burning hydrogen will burn. In theory, if you have an oxygen source, you can create water, and the reaction must happen. But do it in a small, enclosed space? Too dangerous."

What about the weather on Mars?

In the film:

Sandstorm is the cause of Matt Damon's collapse. Unable to predict when lightning and tornadoes appear! But really?

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The storms on Mars are recorded by satellites.

Ming said, here the filmmakers have overpriced. The fact is, over the past 20 years, only a few strong storms on Mars have been able to sweep through most of the planet."Everything happened quite quickly, but the storm formation took a long time," he said. "Is it actually the same as the movie when the storm formed without warning or not? Of course not, our orbits on Mars will see them, to some extent we can predict when the storm will come near. " Dr. Ming affirmed that the scene of the storm was distorted to create a sense of tension for the audience.

Six-wheel drive on Mars?

In the film:

Fans of the sci-fi movies know that moving on Mars is not as good as a six-wheeler. And Matt Damon also rides like that. But why do six-wheel cars become the typical model when used on the red planet?

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Such a vehicle was developed by NASA, and it is equipped with a mobile suspension. "In the case of a wheel that can't reach the ground, the car will go with the other five wheels," Doug Ming said. "That's how our cars on all terrain move. Mars". He emphasized that the six-wheeled vehicle used on all terrain in the film is very similar to the NASA-developed model.