FILM · 2015 · USA
The Martian
- Directed by
- Ridley Scott
- Runtime
- 141 min
- Studio
- Genre Films, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
177 archived facts 6 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
177 Interesting Facts About The Martian
Interesting Facts (75)
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- #003
Contains a major spoiler — show
Matt Damon admitted that the scene in which Mark becomes emotional upon hearing Commander Lewis's voice was real. The other actors had already wrapped and gone home, and their pre-recorded voices were actually played to Damon from inside the spacesuit. Damon was moved to tears as he thought about how his character had been utterly alone on Mars for two years and could only hear the pre-recorded voices of his castmates, who had already finished their scenes. Sir Ridley Scott was so impressed by Damon's performance that he shot only one take of the scene used in the film.
- #004
Contains a major spoiler — show
When NASA and Watney communicate in writing for the first time, Watney drops an F-bomb. He is warned to watch his language because everything he writes is broadcast worldwide. In the film his reaction is not shown, only the reactions of others. In the novel his reply is: "Look! A pair of boobs! -> (. Y.)".
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Early on, it is said that a compromised spacesuit would cause decompression and give a person roughly a minute to live. This is scientifically accurate; contrary to popular belief, acute decompression in space or on a planet with very low pressure such as Mars does not cause the body to immediately explode or expand. The main effects include confusion, loss of consciousness and some subcutaneous bleeding, but a generally healthy human body is accepted to be able to survive in a vacuum for a minute without life-threatening consequences.
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The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars averages 600 Pa (0.087 psi), about 0.6% of Earth's average sea-level pressure of 100 kPa (14.69 psi). It is so low that, as they put it, the "fierce storm" would be something like a very light breeze that ruffles your hair. Author Andy Weir admitted this is the biggest inaccuracy in the story. Because of the low air density, sound does not travel as it does on Earth, and in the freezing cold, toxic atmosphere and lack of pressure, someone would have to stand next to you and shout for you to hear them.
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- #012
The exterior scenes on Mars were shot at a slower rate to simulate Martian gravity, which is 38% of Earth's. Anything on the Martian surface therefore had to appear lighter and make slight jumps. However, the desired frame rate did not allow the cameras to run in sync. To eliminate this, the film was shot at 48 frames per second for the exterior scenes and then slowed down to the standard 24 frames per second. This meant a great deal of sound had to be re-recorded in post. As a result, it would have been impossible to sync the sound to Mark's lips, which were shot at the slower frame rate. To avoid this problem, Sir Ridley Scott preferred to have Mark present in the scenes rather than have him "narrate" by talking in the suit.
- #013
"Steely-eyed missile man" is a reference to the actions of flight controller John Aaron after two lightning strikes hit the Apollo 12 rocket within the first minute after launch. The electrical surge caused numerous problems in the craft's telemetry system and, if unresolved, would have led to the mission being aborted. Aaron recognized that the telemetry problem resembled one seen in tests a year earlier and advised the crew to switch the Signal Conditioning Electronics (SCE) system to the auxiliary position. This control was so obscure that neither the Capsule Commander nor the Flight Director knew what it was or even where it was, but pilot Alan Bean knew and followed Aaron's advice. Changing the setting solved the problem instantly and allowed the mission to continue. Aaron's quick, calm and effective response to the crisis earned him the title regarded at NASA as the highest possible praise.
- #014
Author Andy Weir first wrote the novel as a series on his blog. Writing with this serialized approach allowed him to build the story as it went along, essentially constructing each plotline around something that could go wrong and then working out how Mark would overcome it. Weir stated that he could not solve a failure of the vital life-support systems, so if the oxygenator, water reclaimer or RTG failed, Mark would die.
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, Watney has no way to communicate with NASA, so he finds and digs up Pathfinder, a spacecraft NASA launched to Mars in the 1990s. After some hacking, he uses the robot to communicate with NASA using a duplicate on Earth. In the real world, NASA builds a working copy of every spacecraft in case something happens to it after launch. This way engineers can troubleshoot and find fixes on Earth. Speaking to Tech Insider, Green said the real-life Pathfinder copy should be "turned on and dusted off," but that it exists. So NASA could theoretically really use it to communicate with a stranded Martian astronaut.
- #016
The mission is named Ares 3, a tribute to Ares, the Greek god of war whose Roman name is Mars. The large ship traveling between Earth and Mars is named Hermes, after the Greek god who served as messenger and envoy. Hermes was regarded as the patron and protector of travelers. The Roman version of Hermes is Mercury.
- #017
Andy Weir (the author) stated that the only moment he was disappointed was left out of the final film was Mark Watney creating an audio recording that goes "How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense" after Teddy Sanders wonders what Watney is thinking on Mars. It can be found in the extra content of the Blu-ray release.
- #018
In the novel, Mark Watney has two master's degrees, one in botany and one in mechanical engineering. In the film, however, he has a doctorate in botany, and although he is shown to be knowledgeable about the engineering and maintenance of the mission equipment, no engineering background is mentioned.
- #019
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
After the probe explodes during launch, Sean Bean can be seen saying "GC, lock the doors," the same command given in 2003 by NASA Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain after the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry. The command instructs the Ground Controller (GC) to lock the control room doors so that no one can enter or leave until all data is secured for an internal investigation.
- #021
When designing the film's spacesuits, the costume designer looked at many of NASA's real Mars suits and said that because of their bulk they were "exactly like a Buzz Lightyear suit." Even Sir Ridley Scott did not like them, so the final designs of the suits were based on pictures of the real suits but aimed for a more practical approach.
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- #024
As Watney sets out on his long walk, he stops to stand on top of a hill. In the distance, a number of dust devils can be seen. When NASA sent the Opportunity rover to Mars in 2004, it was expected to last 90 days, largely because of the prediction that over a three-month period enough Martian dust would collect on its solar panels that they could no longer recharge. Despite this, it remarkably continued to operate for 14 years, traveled about 28 miles, performed hundreds of tests and sent back thousands of photographs. NASA attributes this durability to the dust devils that occasionally pass over and blow the dust away. Its successor, the nuclear-powered Curiosity rover, landed on Mars in 2012 and, as of 2024, is still operating. The Perseverance rover arrived in 2021 to begin its exploration with the primary mission of finding evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.
- #025
Contains a major spoiler — show
In both the film and the novel, Watney grows his own food by planting potato eyes in the soil. He fertilizes the plants with human waste and produces liquid water for the crop from rocket fuel. Given what is already known about Martian soil, there is no reason this would not work in real life. Botanist Bruce Bugbee, who works with NASA, told Tech Insider that NASA has already made progress on farming in space. In 2015, for the first time, astronauts on the International Space Station tasted some of the lettuce they had grown in microgravity.
- #026
Contains a major spoiler — show
Toward the end, after flying through the Martian atmosphere, Watney (Matt Damon) says he is experiencing chest pain, likely because G-forces broke some of his ribs. This is undoubtedly due to spaceflight osteopenia, which causes bones to lose density after prolonged exposure to low or zero gravity. Since Mars's gravity is only 38% of Earth's, Watney's long stay there made his bones brittle, possibly worsened by a lack of vitamins and minerals from his food. The subcutaneous hemorrhages visible on his back could also be a result of vitamin deficiency, particularly vitamin K, of which potatoes provide very little.
- #027
Production designer Arthur Max: "We built this at Korda Studios in Budapest; it has the largest — the reason we went there was that it currently has the largest stage in the world. As large an area as the enhanced stage at Pinewood that held the previous record. But 6 meters taller. So we could also put in the world's largest green screen, a four-walled green screen. There was enough space to create a big Martian landscape, drive our rover at speed, reset, walk around immediately, build our habitat, and later place the legs of our climbing vehicle." [Various 2015].
- #028
The surface of Mars is being examined, and currently is examined, by a camera satellite orbiting with enough precision to pick out an object the size of a basketball. When the images were studied, worm-like shapes on the surface were discovered to actually be collapsed lava pits. It was also discovered that the vents contain passages reaching deep into the surface. The greatest danger on Mars is cosmic and solar radiation, so the best shelter would be deep underground, which would provide far better protection than any spacecraft. Therefore, as of 2020, the latest research indicates that the first humans to arrive on Mars would set up their facilities inside an empty lava tube underground rather than on the surface. An additional advantage is that the most likely place to find actual life thriving on Mars is also underground.
- #029
- #030
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, the romantic interest between astronauts Beth Johanssen and Chris Beck is not revealed until just before Watney's rescue and is kept secret from the rest of the crew. In the book, not only does Watney know there is romantic tension between the two, but Commander Lewis also knows; when they return to Mars, after a heating problem in Martinez and Watney's bunk makes the room uninhabitable, she lets them share a room, which meant Martinez had to use Beck's bunk.
- #031
Contains a major spoiler — show
The film ends with Mark returning to Earth and teaching a group of astronaut candidates. None of this is in the novel, which ends with the crew rescuing Watney and beginning the journey back to Earth. Watney writes in his log, "This is the happiest day of my life."
- #032
- #033
Contains a major spoiler — show
At the end of the film, while Mark Watney is in the lecture hall, the slogan on the floor is "Per ardua ad astra," a Latin phrase meaning "Through hardships to the stars," "A rough road leads to the stars" or "To the stars through difficulties." Besides being the motto of many air forces and institutions around the world, it is also the slogan written on the Apollo 1 memorial plaque.
- #034
During the "Council of Elrond" discussion, Teddy Sanders says he wants to be referred to as Glorfindel. Glorfindel is in fact a very important character from The Lord of the Rings novels — that is, one of the high elves named Glorfindel in "The Silmarillion" who fought against Sauron and was also partly responsible for carrying Frodo on the final leg of the flight to Rivendell (the role played by Arwen in the film), and who would later join the Council as one of Elrond's chief advisors. His name means "golden-haired," and actor Jeff Daniels has blond hair.
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- #040
While examining Johanssen's laptop, Mark notices copies of "Zork II" and "The Leather Goddesses of Phobos." These were 1980s computer games that Infocom called interactive fiction, in which text was used to describe scenes and the player typed actions to accomplish things. Phobos is also the larger of Mars's two moons. "Zork" is perhaps the most famous of these games, and the fact that Johanssen has the sequel as well as the Mars-centered Goddesses game shows that she is a serious fan of these games (which were very popular in the 80s). Infocom had numerous titles set in space, and if you look carefully enough they can still be found online.
- #041
- #042
Contains a major spoiler — show
Watney's remarks about space piracy make more sense in the novel. In the film he stays in contact with NASA throughout the journey to the Ares IV MAV, and therefore, rather than seizing it as an act of technical piracy, he is given implicit permission to use the MAV. In the novel, losing radio contact with NASA before reaching the MAV makes it impossible to obtain any permission to use the vehicle, making his claim to be a space pirate much more valid.
- #043
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels) questions the logic of risking the lives of the five people on the Hermes crew to save one man. A similar debate was the subject of Saving Private Ryan (1998), and coincidentally Matt Damon was the man who needed saving in both films.
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Watney's story about JPL began when a group of Caltech students nearly burned down their dormitory, and it is mostly true. The students in question were Frank Malina, Jack Parsons and Ed Forman, and they were expelled from campus after the incident. They continued their experiments and later founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- #049
Contains a major spoiler — show
According to some NASA scientists, the plot point in which a lone JPL scientist suddenly works out a gravity-assist return to Mars for the Hermes is unrealistic, because that would probably be one of the first possibilities investigated. It is noted that the Hermes would be used on all the remaining Ares missions, including Ares IV, which would probably rescue Watney. A gravity-assist return trajectory would clearly be faster and less time-consuming than slowing the ship into Earth orbit, loading the Ares IV crew and supplies, and breaking out of Earth orbit to return to Mars, and it would generally be only marginally riskier, unless the ship needed a major overhaul between missions.
- #050
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, the trips to the Pathfinder and to Ares 4 required far more effort, and during these trips Watney nearly died several times. Moreover, for example, preparing the rover with the drill took several days, a situation that was compressed in time for the film.
- #051
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Gloria Gaynor song "I Will Survive," which plays in the film's final section, is significant not only because it is a widely hated disco song, but also because Watney manages to survive for months on Mars's inhospitable surface. The song is also fitting because it contains the line "And so you're back from outer space."
- #052
Contains a major spoiler — show
The film has no human villain. Mars itself can be considered the antagonist, however, and screenwriter Drew Goddard sees "the conditions" as the enemy. There was some thought given to turning Teddy Sanders into a villain who doesn't take Watney's situation seriously and refuses to listen to his advisers, but the idea was quickly set aside in order to keep Sanders as a good man whose disagreements over how to rescue Watney are reasonable. The screenplay emphasizes that Mitch Henderson resigns from NASA as ordered, since after defying Sanders's decision and putting his own plan into action, he is not present alongside Sanders and the other senior officials in the film's final scenes when the new Ares mission is launched.
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- #055
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, the rocket used to launch the Iris supply probe to Mars for astronaut Mark Watney is an Atlas V (500 series) that explodes shortly after a launch that appears successful. In reality, Atlas V rockets had never failed up to the making of the film. A launch can be considered a partial failure if the payload is not delivered to the correct orbit, but the customer still declared it a success.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
For the launch of the Iris-1 probe, footage of the Atlas V 541 Mars Science Laboratory is shown lifting off. The in-flight breakup is footage of the in-flight breakup of the Delta 3614 that carried the GOES-G satellite in 1986. The difference is clearly visible in the blue color of the core booster and in the solid rocket motors evenly spaced around it. No Atlas V vehicle ever failed in flight.
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The plot lines of the returning vehicle having to stand upright on the Martian surface to leave the planet and of a botanist/astronaut growing Earth plants in Martian soil had previously been seen in George Pal's Conquest of Space (1955). A space funeral scene from Conquest of Space (1955) was in some way copied in Alien, also directed by Sir Ridley Scott.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The footage used for the launch of Iris 1 is footage of the Mars Science Laboratory on an Atlas V-541 rocket. The trailer shows an accelerated shot of the same rocket's gantry retracting. The Mars Science Laboratory logo can be seen on the payload fairing below the NASA "meatball" and above the US flag and the Atlas 'A' logo.
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It is Matt Damon's fourth highest-grossing film worldwide, after The Odyssey (2026), Oppenheimer (2023) and Interstellar (2014), all directed by Sir Christopher Nolan.
- #069
During the technical checks before launching the rescue probe, a technician declared that the signal was 'five by five.' Besides being a term describing the strength and clarity of a radio signal, this was a phrase repeatedly uttered by the character Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), which counted screenwriter Drew Goddard among its staff writers. The phrase is also used by Corporal Ferro in James Cameron's Aliens (1986), the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). It is also a way of describing how good an audio signal is. During the Apollo test missions (and most notably the audio of the Apollo 1 fire), you hear mission control counting from one to five, and the astronauts respond as to how good the quality is. For example, 4 to 5, 3 to 5, etc. if they missed a number).
- #070
Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly 1:50:50, Sebastian Stan's character discusses their intercept speed and what he can and cannot do, saying "(Anything faster than) 10 m/s is like jumping on a moving train," which is exactly what his character did shortly before his death in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Near the end of the film, a scene shows people around the world watching news of the attempt to rescue Watney in city centers such as Times Square in New York and Trafalgar Square in London. In Matt Damon's next film, Downsizing (2017), one of the opening scenes shows people around the world watching news about the first humans to shrink themselves to five inches tall, and Matt Damon's character is shown watching it.
- #075
Contains a major spoiler — show
Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain's previous space travel film, Interstellar (2014), stars Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey had previously appeared in an earlier space travel film, Contact (1997). That film also featured Tom Skerritt and John Hurt, who had previously appeared together in Alien (1979), another space travel film directed by Sir Ridley Scott.
Production Story (74)
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Matt Damon admitted that the scene in which Mark becomes emotional upon hearing Commander Lewis's voice was real. The other actors had already wrapped and gone home, and their pre-recorded voices were actually played to Damon from inside the space suit. Damon was moved to tears when he began to think about how his character had been left all alone on Mars for two years and was hearing only the pre-recorded voices of his castmates, who had already finished their scenes. Sir Ridley Scott was so impressed by Damon's performance that he shot only one take of the scene used in the film.
- #081
Matt Damon wanted to lose a large amount of weight for a scene near the end of the film, but Sir Ridley Scott forbade it. Damon had already done this during the shooting of Courage Under Fire (1996), but it had seriously endangered his health and he had subsequently required medical supervision for a long time. For The Martian, a body double was used instead.
- #082
When NASA and Watney communicate in writing for the first time, Watney drops an F-bomb. He is warned to watch his language because everything he writes is broadcast worldwide. In the film, his reaction is not shown, only the reactions of others. In the novel, his reply is: "Look! A pair of boobs! -> (. Y.) "
- #083
- #084
At the beginning, it is said that a compromised space suit would cause decompression and give a person about a minute to live. This is scientifically accurate; contrary to popular belief, acute decompression in space or on a planet with very low pressure such as Mars does not cause the body to immediately explode or expand. The main effects include confusion, loss of consciousness and some subcutaneous bleeding, but it is generally accepted that a healthy human body can survive in a vacuum for a minute without life-threatening consequences.
- #085
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The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars averages 600 Pa (0.087 psi), about 0.6% of Earth's average sea-level pressure of 100 kPa (14.69 psi). It is so low that what they call a "fierce storm" would be something like a very light breeze that ruffles your hair. Author Andy Weir admitted that this is the biggest inaccuracy in the story. Because of the low air density, sound does not travel as it does on Earth, and in the freezing cold, toxic atmosphere and lack of pressure, someone would have to stand next to you and shout for you to hear them.
- #088
- #089
The exterior scenes on Mars were shot at a slower frame rate to simulate Mars's gravity, which is 38% of Earth's. For this reason, anything on the Martian surface had to appear lighter and make a slight bounce. However, the desired frame rate did not allow the cameras to run in sync. To eliminate this, the film was shot at 48 frames per second for the exterior scenes and then slowed down to the standard 24 frames per second. This meant that a great deal of sound had to be re-recorded in post. As a result, it would have been impossible to sync the sound with Mark's lips, which were shot at the slower frame rate. To avoid this problem, Sir Ridley Scott preferred to have Mark be present in the scenes rather than having him "narrate" by talking in the suit.
- #090
In the film's final scene, a Chinese astronaut is shown on a later mission to Mars. This is a reference to a storyline that appears in the novel but is not shown in the film, in which the Chinese space agency arranges a trade to place a Chinese astronaut on the next Mars mission in exchange for the use of booster rockets.
- #091
"Steely-eyed missile man" is a reference to flight controller John Aaron's actions after two lightning strikes hit the Apollo 12 rocket within the first minute of launch. The electrical surge caused numerous problems in the craft's telemetry system and, if unresolved, would have led to the mission being aborted. Aaron recognized that the telemetry problem resembled one seen in tests a year earlier and advised the crew to switch the Signal Conditioning Electronics (SCE) system to auxiliary position. The control was so obscure that neither the Capsule Commander nor the Flight Director knew what it was, or even where it was, but pilot Alan Bean knew to follow Aaron's advice. Changing the setting solved the problem instantly and allowed the mission to continue. Aaron's quick, calm and effective response to the crisis earned him the title regarded as the highest praise possible at NASA.
- #092
The "cloak-and-dagger" meeting held to propose the Rich Purnell Maneuver is named the Elrond Project, after the Council of Elrond in the "Lord of the Rings" series. When the name is questioned, the first character to explain it is Henderson, played by Sean Bean. Bean played Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and was present during that council.
- #093
The mission is named Ares 3, a tribute to Ares, the Greek god of war whose Roman name is Mars. The large ship traveling between Earth and Mars is named Hermes, after the Greek god who was a messenger and herald. Hermes was regarded as the patron and protector of travelers. The Roman version of Hermes is Mercury.
- #094
Andy Weir (the author) stated that the only moment in the book he was disappointed was not used in the final film was after Teddy Sanders wonders what Watney is thinking on Mars, when Mark Watney records an audio log that goes "How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense." It can be found in the extra content of the Blu-ray release.
- #095
- #096
After the probe explodes during launch, Sean Bean can be seen saying "GC, lock the doors," the same command given in 2003 by NASA Entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain after the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry. The command instructs the Ground Controller (GC) to lock the doors of the control room so that no one can enter or leave until all data is secured for an internal investigation.
- #097
The costume designer looked at most of NASA's real Mars suits while designing the spacesuits for the film and said that, because of their bulk, they were "exactly like a Buzz Lightyear suit." Even Sir Ridley Scott didn't like them, so the final designs of the suits were based on pictures of the real suits but aimed for a more practical approach.
- #098
- #099
As Watney sets out on his long walk, he stops to stand on top of a hill. In the distance, a group of dust devils can be seen. When NASA sent the Opportunity rover to Mars in 2004, it was expected to last 90 days, largely because of the prediction that over a three-month period enough Martian dust would collect on its solar panels that they could no longer recharge. Despite this, it surprisingly continued to operate for 14 years, traveled about 28 miles, performed hundreds of tests and sent back thousands of photographs. NASA attributes this durability to the dust devils that occasionally pass over and blow the dust away. Its successor, the nuclear-powered Curiosity rover, landed on Mars in 2012 and, as of 2024, is still operating. The Perseverance rover arrived in 2021 to begin its exploration with the primary mission of finding evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.
- #100
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In the novel, it emerges that there is a possibility that the Hermes crew will carry out the resupply mission during the Rich Purnell Maneuver — it was decided that, because Johannsen is the youngest member of the crew and therefore needs the least amount of food, the rest of the crew would commit suicide so as not to A) waste valuable food resources and B) leave her as the sole survivor by eating them for protein. When the supply effort succeeds, Martinez asks whom he will eat first and says he thinks the tastiest one will be his; Johannsen moves away from him and calls out: "What? I thought you liked Mexican!"
- #102
After flying through Mars's atmosphere toward the end, Watney (Matt Damon) says he is experiencing chest pain, likely because G-forces broke some of his ribs. The cause is undoubtedly spaceflight osteopenia, a condition in which bone density decreases after prolonged exposure to low or zero gravity. Since Mars's gravity is only 38% of Earth's, Watney's long stay there made his bones brittle, and this was probably worsened by a lack of vitamins and minerals from his food. The subcutaneous hemorrhages visible on his back could also be a result of vitamin deficiency, particularly vitamin K, of which potatoes provide very little.
- #103
Production designer Arthur Max: "We built this at Korda Studios in Budapest; it has the largest - the reason we went there was because it currently has the largest stage in the world. As large an area as the enhanced stage at Pinewood that held the previous record. But 6 meters taller. So we were also able to put in the world's largest green screen, a four-walled green screen. There was enough space to create a large Martian landscape, to drive our rover at speed, to reset, walk around immediately, build our habitat, and later place the legs of our climbing vehicle." [Various 2015].
- #104
Except for a few interior shots and close-ups, all of the EVA suits' helmet visors (both the glass visor and the retractable shiny gold sunshield) were created digitally. The aim was to minimize the complications of shiny visors reflecting green screens, studio lights, cameras and crew members. This is captured by a virtual camera in 3D space. The virtual camera's position, angle and distance, lens, f-stop and other settings are adjusted to match exactly the settings of the real physical camera.
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In the film, the romantic interest between astronauts Beth Johanssen and Chris Beck is not revealed until just before Watney's rescue and is kept secret from the rest of the crew. In the book, not only does Watney know there is romantic tension between the two, but Commander Lewis also knows; when they return to Mars, she lets them share a room after a heating problem in Martinez and Watney's bunk makes the room uninhabitable, which meant Martinez had to use Beck's bunk.
- #107
Whenever Mark boots up a computer (that is, when he finds the MAV), a series of source code appears on the screen. The code is written in PVS (Prototype Verification System), an experimental macro language that NASA actually uses, and it is very likely to appear on a future spacecraft. This particular piece of code is taken from the already existing NASA PVS Library, and if you type part of it into Google, you can find this code snippet as open source.
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At the end of the film, while Mark Watney is in the lecture hall, the slogan written on the floor is "Per ardua ad astra," a Latin phrase meaning "Through hardships to the stars," "A rough road leads to the stars" or "To the stars through difficulties." Besides being the motto of many air forces and institutions around the world, it is also the slogan written on the Apollo 1 memorial plaque.
- #110
During the "Council of Elrond" discussion, Teddy Sanders states that he wants to be referred to as Glorfindel. In fact, there is a very important character from The Lord of the Rings novels — namely one of the high elves named Glorfindel in "The Silmarillion" who fought against Sauron and was also partly responsible for carrying Frodo on the final leg of the flight to Rivendell (the role played by Arwen in the film), and who would later join the Council as one of Elrond's chief advisers. His name means "golden-haired," and the actor Jeff Daniels has blond hair.
- #111
In the novel, Mark Watney accidentally destroys Pathfinder's circuitry and thereby eliminates his communication vector with NASA. The entire journey to the Ares 4 MAV took place in a complete blackout, apart from one-way communication from Mark to NASA. This was done using visual Morse code with Mars rocks. Mark would 'spell out' his message while waiting for the batteries to charge during daylight hours. Toward the end of the film, the NASA administrator says, "limited contact with Watney," which potentially references this event.
- #112
- #113
While examining Johanssen's laptop, Mark notices that it contains copies of "Zork II" and "The Leather Goddesses of Phobos." These were 1980s computer games that Infocom called interactive fiction, in which text was used to describe scenes and the player typed actions to accomplish things. Phobos is also the larger of Mars's two moons. "Zork" is perhaps the most famous of these games, and the fact that Johanssen has the sequel as well as the Mars-centered Goddesses game shows that she is a serious fan of the games (which were very popular in the '80s). Infocom had numerous titles set in space, and if you look carefully enough they can still be found online.
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Most of the issues flagged as errors in the film are cases where information was removed or rearranged from the novel for reasons of time or pacing. For example, in the novel Watney correctly calculates how much soil he needs for his crops, which is far more than what is shown in the film; repairing the airlock is a more extensive process; the "hab canvas" is actually a high-tech, radiation-resistant material and not a simple tarp; the explosion during the water experiment stems from more complex causes than what is described in the film; and Watney actually cuts a hole in the rover that was cleaned so he can use it for extra storage instead of the operational rover.
- #116
Watney's remarks about space piracy make more sense in the novel. In the film, he stays in contact with NASA throughout the journey to the Ares IV MAV, and therefore he is given implicit permission to use the MAV rather than seizing it as an act of technical piracy. In the novel, losing radio contact with NASA before reaching the MAV makes it impossible to obtain any permission to use the vehicle, making his claim of being a space pirate far more valid.
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Although the film used one of the largest green screens in history to shoot the exterior scenes outside the Hab, the entire green screen initially had to be covered and draped with dark materials while shooting the storm scene. This was to allow the real use of sand and high-powered fans to create a sandstorm in which the actors could relax. Shooting this against a green screen would have been difficult for two main reasons. First, the green screen is so bright that it would have been impossible to see the sand flying around even after the CGI backgrounds were added, and second, the scene takes place during a storm in the middle of the night. Therefore, no background VFX was needed.
- #121
According to some NASA scientists, the plot point of a lone JPL scientist suddenly working on a gravity-assisted return to Mars for the Hermes is not realistic, because it would probably be one of the first possibilities investigated. It is noted that the "Hermes" would likely be used for all the remaining Ares missions, including Ares IV, which would be the one to rescue Watney. A gravity-assisted return trajectory would clearly be faster and less time-consuming than slowing the ship into Earth orbit, loading the Ares IV crew and supplies aboard, and breaking out of Earth orbit to return to Mars, and it would be only marginally riskier, unless the ship generally required a major overhaul between missions.
- #122
- #123
The idea of using a gravity assist to send the "Hermes" back to Mars is similar to the flight plan used to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts home after their spacecraft was disabled. In the latter case, the Moon was used to accelerate the ship and send it back toward Earth in order to save fuel and shorten the return journey.
- #124
The Gloria Gaynor song "I Will Survive," which plays in the final section of the film, is significant not only because it is a widely hated disco song, but also because Watney manages to survive for months on Mars's inhospitable surface. The song is also fitting because it contains the phrase "And so you're back from outer space."
- #125
- #126
- #127
The wounds or marks observed on Mark Watney's body during the period when he was at his weakest (especially visible in the shower scene before his final departure) are generally interpreted as a combination of skin infections, lesions and pressure sores (bedsores). These physical ailments were caused by various factors: Malnutrition/Vitamin Deficiency: A prolonged, limited potato diet and, in the film, potentially compromised nutrient sources (due to earlier accidents) lead to symptoms resembling scurvy or, more specifically, pellagra (B3/tryptophan deficiency). Wearing an EVA Suit for Long Periods: Wearing the same Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit for a long time causes friction, sweat accumulation and skin irritation. Poor Hygiene: Being unable to shower properly or clean oneself for more than a year. Physical Trauma: He took severe beatings from dust storms, explosions and long, cramped drives in the rover. While some viewers debate whether these are radiation burns, the prevailing interpretation is that they are "bed sores" or skin lesions caused by harsh living conditions, poor nutrition and lack of hygiene.
- #128
In the book, immediately after being rescued, Watney recounts how, due to the injury he suffered during his ascent from Mars, he 'screamed like a little girl' and turned down the volume on his microphone so the others would not hear him. He then says, 'What they say is true. No one can hear you scream like a little girl in space.' This is a reference to the tagline of Alien (1979): In space, no one can hear you scream. That film was also directed by Sir Ridley Scott. In addition, both films earned Scott the Saturn Award for Best Director.
- #129
There is no human villain in this film. However, Mars itself can be considered the antagonist, and writer Drew Goddard sees the "conditions" as the villain. There were some thoughts about turning Teddy Sanders into a villain who does not take Watney's situation seriously and refuses to listen to his advisers, but this idea was quickly set aside in order to keep Sanders as a good man whose disagreements over how to rescue Watney are reasonable. The script emphasized that Mitch Henderson, after defying Sanders's decision and putting his own plan into action, resigned from NASA as ordered, since he is not present alongside Sanders and the other senior officials when the new Ares mission is launched in the film's final scenes.
- #130
- #131
The character listed in the cast as "CNN Reporter" is played by CNN's real Berlin-based correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. "Fred," as he is known, is German, but speaks with a flawless American accent thanks to his German undergraduate and master's education, which focused partly on North America, and his graduate studies in the US.
- #132
In the film, the rocket used to launch the Iris supply probe to Mars for astronaut Mark Watney is an Atlas V (500 series) that explodes shortly after a launch that appears successful. In reality, Atlas V rockets had never failed up to the making of the film. A launch can be considered a partial failure because the payload was not delivered to the correct orbit, but the customer still declared it a success.
- #133
- #134
- #135
- #136
Former astronaut Clayton Anderson praised the film: "It shows NASA's workforce working together, sometimes making great personal sacrifices, to get the job done." Microbiologist and former astronaut Kate Rubins, the first person to sequence DNA in space, also praised its scientific accuracy: "It does a great job of showing how biology and chemistry can be used to make what you need from what you have on hand."
- #137
For the launch of the Iris-1 probe, footage of the Atlas V 541 Mars Science Laboratory is shown lifting off. The in-flight breakup is footage of the in-flight breakup of the Delta 3614 carrying the GOES-G satellite in 1986. The difference is clearly visible in the blue color of the core booster and in the solid rocket motors spaced evenly around it. No Atlas V vehicle ever failed in flight.
- #138
The score references the ping sound at the beginning of Pink Floyd's Echoes and the horns at the beginning of Jerry Goldsmith's score for Patton (1970). Echoes mentions sand (and is quite long), and part of Patton takes place in the North African deserts that recall the Martian landscape.
- #139
- #140
To have the necessary 126 square meters of soil area that Watney mentions, the HAB module's diameter would have needed to be more than 41.5 feet — in reality it appeared to be around 25 feet, and therefore would have had an area of only about 50 m2 — which would have had a major effect on his potato crop.
- #141
- #142
The footage used for the launch of Iris 1 is footage of the Mars Science Laboratory on an Atlas V-541 rocket. The trailer shows an accelerated image of the same rocket's portal retraction. The Mars Science Laboratory logo can be seen on the payload fairing below the NASA "meatball" and above the US flag and the Atlas 'A' logo.
- #143
- #144
During the technical checks before launching the rescue probe, a technician announced that the signal was 'five by five.' Besides being a term describing the strength and clarity of a radio signal, this was a phrase repeatedly uttered by the character Faith in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), which counted screenwriter Drew Goddard among its staff writers. The phrase is also used by the character Corporal Ferro in James Cameron's Aliens (1986), the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). It is also a way of describing how good an audio signal is. During the Apollo test missions (and most notably the audio of the Apollo 1 fire), you hear mission control counting from one to five, and the astronauts respond as to how good the quality is. For example, 4 to 5, 3 to 5, etc. If they missed a number).
- #145
Matt Damon shrugs his shoulders to the music while playing the song 'Hot Stuff', which he described as 'the least disco' song. This song and the shoulder drop were in the film 'The Full Monty', as a nod from The Martian to The Full Monty, when the men line up to look for work at the Job Centre.
- #146
At about 1:50:50, Sebastian Stan's character discusses their intervention speeds and what he can and cannot do, saying "(Anything faster than) 10 m/s is like jumping on a moving train", which is exactly what his character did shortly before his "death" in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
- #147
- #148
The film references the Chinese space program but does not reference the Russian (and predecessor Soviet) space program. China's space program is actually Russia's space program and to this day uses similar modules. In the book, the only mention of the Soviet space program is a rather unpleasant reference to the "module" Watney has to use to leave Mars and its lack of protection. This is despite the fact that the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, was Russian/Soviet.
- #149
Behind the Scenes (12)
- #150
Contains a major spoiler — show
Matt Damon wanted to lose a large amount of weight for a scene near the end of the film, but Sir Ridley Scott forbade it. Damon had already done this during the shooting of Courage Under Fire (1996), but it had seriously endangered his health and he had to remain under medical supervision for a long time afterwards. A body double was used for The Martian instead.
- #151
- #152
- #153
- #154
- #155
Over the course of one month, NASA fielded hundreds of questions from The Martian's production about radioisotope systems and the design of potential habitats for future Mars astronauts. Green answered them himself or routed them to the appropriate expert before returning them to Scott's team for use in the production.
- #156
NASA supplied The Martian's production with hundreds of genuine photographs of Mars and of control centers, including images showing what the computer screens look like. Green also arranged an eight-hour tour of the Johnson Space Center in Houston for production designer Arthur Max, who met specialists there and took hundreds of photos.
- #157
For The Martian, production designer Arthur Max built a futuristic, heavily modernized Mission Control as a studio set. Ars Technica described the film's depiction as "the space agency that we all dream of" and contrasted it with the real Johnson Center's appearance, which it called "a run down college campus".
- #158
- #159
Except for a few interior shots and close-ups, all of the helmet visors on the EVA suits (both the glass visor and the retractable shiny gold sunshield) were created digitally. The aim was to minimize complications with reflective visors mirroring green screens, studio lights, cameras and crew members. This is captured by a virtual camera in 3D space. The virtual camera's position, angle and distance, lens, f-stop and other settings are adjusted to match exactly the settings of the real physical camera.
- #160
- #161
Although the film used one of the largest green screens in history to shoot the exterior scenes outside the Hab, the entire green screen initially had to be covered and draped with dark materials when filming the storm scene. This was to allow the real use of sand and high-powered fans to create a sandstorm in which the actors could relax. Shooting it against green screen would have been difficult for two main reasons. First, the green screen is so bright that even after CGI backgrounds were added it would have been impossible to see the sand flying around, and second, the scene takes place during a storm in the middle of the night, so no background VFX was needed.
Characters & Cast (1)
Easter Eggs & References (8)
- #163
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film's final section, a Chinese astronaut is later shown on a mission to Mars. This is a reference to a plotline that appears in the novel but is not shown in the film, in which the China National Space Agency arranges to take a Chinese astronaut on the next Mars mission in exchange for the use of booster rockets.
- #164
About 20 sets were built, which is not many compared with other films, but they were far more "technical." To put this in perspective against other Sir Ridley Scott films, he used 70 sets on Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and more than 100 on American Gangster (2007).
- #165
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the novel Mark Watney accidentally destroys Pathfinder's circuitry, thereby eliminating the communication vector with NASA. The entire journey to the Ares 4 MAV took place in a complete blackout, apart from one-way communication from Mark to NASA. This was done using visual Morse code with Martian rocks. Mark "spelled out" his message while waiting for the batteries to charge during daylight hours. Toward the end of the film, the NASA administrator says that "limited contact with Watney" potentially refers to this event.
- #166
Contains a major spoiler — show
The idea of using a gravity assist to send the Hermes back to Mars is similar to the flight plan used to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts home after their spacecraft was disabled. In the latter case, the Moon was used to accelerate the ship and send it back toward Earth in order to save fuel and speed up the return journey.
- #167
- #168
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, Watney recounts how, right after being rescued, he screamed "like a little girl" from the injury he suffered during his ascent from Mars, and turned down his microphone so the others wouldn't hear him. He then says, "What they say is true. No one can hear you scream like a little girl in space." This is a reference to the tagline of Alien (1979): In space, no one can hear you scream. That film was also directed by Sir Ridley Scott. Both films also earned Scott a Saturn Award for Best Director.
- #169
Contains a major spoiler — show
The film and the book make small references to each other regarding their differences. In the film, Teddy interrupts Bruce and tells him that when they decided to build the first Iris probe, he would have said the overtime alone would be a nightmare. That is exactly what Bruce says in the book. In the book's closing monologue, Mark Watney says that if this were a movie, everyone would be waiting for him at the airlock to high-five him, and that is exactly what happens in the film.
- #170
Deeper Meaning (7)
- #171
- #172
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the novel, it emerges that the Hermes crew would have a chance if they carried out a resupply during a Rich Purnell Maneuver — it was decided that Johannsen, as the smallest member of the crew and therefore the one needing the least food, would commit suicide so that the rest of the crew could A) avoid wasting precious food resources and B) eat her for protein and remain the only survivors. When the resupply effort succeeds, Martinez asks who gets to eat first and says he thinks he should get the tastiest part; Johannsen moves away from him and calls out: "What? I thought you liked Mexican!"
- #173
Contains a major spoiler — show
The supply rocket was lost because the protein cargo liquefied. Liquid payloads are safe if held tightly in full containers, but if they are allowed to slosh, serious stability problems arise. Sloshing allows the liquid cargo to shift with a force much greater than its actual weight. For example, naval damage-control principles take into account both the loss of buoyancy from flooding and the loss of stability caused by partially flooded compartments, and it can be advantageous to completely fill a compromised compartment with water to eliminate sloshing.
- #174
Whenever Mark boots up a computer (that is, when he finds the MAV), a series of source code appears on the screen. The code is written in PVS (Prototype Verification System), an experimental macro language NASA actually uses, and it is very likely to appear in a future spacecraft. This particular piece of code is taken from the already existing NASA PVS Library, and if you type part of it into Google, you can find this code snippet as open source.
- #175
Contains a major spoiler — show
Most of the problems flagged as errors in the film are cases where information was omitted or rearranged from the novel in terms of time or rate of progress. For example, in the novel Watney correctly calculates how much soil he needs for his crops, which is far more than is seen in the film; repairing the airlock is a more extensive process; the "hab canvas" is actually a high-tech, radiation-resistant material and not a simple tarpaulin; the explosion during the water experiment is caused by more complex reasons than those explained in the film; and Watney actually cuts a hole in the cleaned rover so he can use it for extra storage instead of the operational rover.
- #176
- #177
The wounds or marks observed on Mark Watney's body during the period when he is at his weakest (especially visible in the shower scene before his final departure) are generally interpreted as a combination of skin infections, lesions and pressure sores (bedsores). These physical ailments were caused by various factors: Malnutrition/Vitamin Deficiency: A prolonged, limited potato diet and the potential compromising of nutrient sources in the film (due to earlier accidents) lead to symptoms resembling scurvy or, more specifically, pellagra (B3/tryptophan deficiency). Wearing an EVA Suit for Long Periods: Wearing the same Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit for a long time causes friction, sweat buildup and skin irritation. Poor Hygiene: Being unable to shower properly or clean himself for more than a year. Physical Trauma: He took severe beatings from dust storms, explosions and long, cramped drives in the rover. While some viewers debate whether these are radiation burns, the prevailing interpretation is that they are "bed sores" or skin lesions caused by harsh living conditions, poor nutrition and lack of hygiene.
Related pages
- Invaders from Mars — The Martian comes up in the facts on that page
- Irrfan Khan — The Martian comes up in the facts on that page
- Cate Blanchett — The Martian comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia The Martian (film) — Wikipedia
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