The Martian - What can we take from it?

On returning from work after a busy day, I switched on the TV for some relaxation and on browsing narrowed down the movie, ‘The Martian’ a 2015 movie starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain with excellent supporting staff. From the very beginning, the story had me gripped on my seat feeling the emotions as Matt was stranded on the planet Mars with few resources, wondering whether he would ever return back alive or the captain ‘Melissa’ who felt guilty for leaving him behind or the NASA space stations officers who are working out the Math and Physics to bring the whole crew back.

Every movie stays with you much after it ends and this movie is still lingering with me because it has got me thinking about many parameters.

The main protagonist, Watney was all alone on the planet but survived 560 sols [Martian solar days] using his wits and immense emotional and mental balance.

In our current educational environments, we give into almost every demand of the students and parents to keep them happy and ensure peaceful coexistence. The pertinent question that looms up is; ‘Will our students be able to survive even a fraction of Watney’s rigorous survival journey?

Are they prepared to respond to mental and emotional turmoil awaiting them at their work and home?

2   Watney has limited food and as a botanist utilizes Martian soil fertilized with crew’s faeces to produce potatoes which help him survive for around 500 sols. Watney applied his theoretical knowledge to practical situations and was able to stretch his survival. The question is, 'Is it possible to extend the knowledge we have of Planet Earth to Planet Mars? Currently, our education system is focused on marks and content but rarely do we focus on skill development. As per World Economic Forum, dated 22^nd Jan 2020, 1 billion jobs will be transformed by technology in the next decade. The world is facing a reskilling emergency but are our education boards ready for the challenge? Are our students ready to translate knowledge into practice? How do we prepare them for the ever-dynamic future?

3    In the movie, China National Space Administration has developed a powerful booster rocket and shares it willingly with NASA’s scientists even though it was to be classified.

Watney's crew were on their way home, excited to be united with their families and completely unaware of Watney’s existence. On hearing about him, they decide to change their course entirely, acknowledging the dangers and risks to their own life and progress to rescue him.

To me, this was the best part of the movie as the entire team risked their own lives to save their team member’s life. Similarly, one country walked up to collaborate with another for saving mankind. Aren't these profound emotions?

Why can’t we instill these values in every human being from day one? It should be reinforced that, " First comes ‘US’, then come ‘I". Wouldn’t the world be a much happier place?

I definitely love movies and always feel that good ones should be shown to our students so that we may have a healthy discussion thereafter. ‘Values cannot be taught but are caught’ and what better way than using the most powerful medium we have amongst us.

Now let us review the STEM learning in the movie and delve deeper. I have put it as a project which can be conducted synchronously or asynchronously. 

Science Project

Evaluate the movie ‘The Martian’’ and categorize the scenes, events, and activities within the

movie as scientifically least probable, scientifically high probability, and complete fiction. Support

all your analysis with evidence and experiments.

 The Martian movie launches astronauts on the Aries missions from a refurbished and state-of-the-art space center. How close and far are we from this probability of having humans

land on Mars? How are spacecraft and rovers supported to land on Mars?

 Watney has limited food and as a botanist utilizes Martian soil fertilized with crew’s faeces

to produce potatoes which help him survive for around 500 sols. – does Martian soil

support the growing of food?

 ‘’There was a high Mars wind of 100mph which destroyed Watney’s crops’’. Explore Mars's

climate to support or negate the statement.

 The space explorers are wearing a heavy space suits and struggling with the weight. Should

they be struggling with the heavy load? Support answers with reasons.

 Matt Damon’s character took hydrazine from the rocket fuel and dissociated it into

nitrogen and hydrogen and he burned the hydrogen with oxygen to make water. Is the

technology sound? Can you suggest any other alternatives?

 Watney is shown to be sweating a lot in his spacesuit at times and sometimes he also gets

cold easily. Explore Mars temperatures to explain this variation.

 To leave the Red Planet, each Ares crew uses a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). In the book,

it’s explained how this plucks methane out of the Martian atmosphere to create fuel. The

rocket then accelerates to an orbital velocity that allows it to rendezvous and dock with

the Hermes spacecraft, which then brings the astronauts back to Earth. Is it truly feasible?

 Watney returns to Earth with no possible health concerns. Evaluate the possibility of the

radiation effects after spending 560 sols [Martian solar days]

 The main protagonist, Watney was all alone on the planet but survived 560 sols [Martian

solar days] using his wits and immense emotional and mental balance. How can our

current educational system empower and support the augmentation of these much-needed

balances?

Another site to visit is https://maththrills.com/movie-math-the-martian/

Everything in the movie is not scientifically true. So another project could be, The inaccuracy of STEM concepts in the movie.

Bibliography:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/reskilling-revolution-jobs-future-skills/

https://g.co/kgs/L3ywP4 - The Martian