Revised survival estimate = ration time + crop time We can calculate how long he can survive with just this limited crop and his rations: All he has are the rations, and the crops he’s already grown, which he estimates to be about 400 plants, with an average of 5 potatoes per plant. Survival Problem 2: Disaster StrikesĪt one point, a catastrophic explosion exposes Mark’s entire potato farm to the Martian atmosphere and kills his remaining crop. For example, “that burger has 250 calories” actually means that burger has 250 kilocalories, or 250,000 calories.ġ kilocalorie is equivalent to 4.184 kJ, which is another unit of energy in food that is used in many places around the world. Number of grown potatoes required = 10000Ī note about calories: when people talk about calories in food, they’re actually talking about “kilocalories” (1 thousand calories). Number of grown potatoes required = 1500000 / 150 Number of grown potatoes required = total calories required / calories per potato Mark estimates a single potato has about 150 calories. He needs to grow a whopping 1.5 million calories of potatoes! Total extra calories required = 1000 × 1500
Total extra calories required = sols left × calories required per day Mark calculates he needs a minimum of 1500 calories per sol. His only solution – to grow potatoes on Mars using his own faeces (poo) as fertilizer! Yuck! That leaves Watney with another 1000 sols without food. Rationed supply time = ration factor × normal supply duration Now since times are desperate, Watney can also ration out the food to last a bit longer – about 1.33 times longer. Since there’s only one person left, that can be multiplied by 6: NASA provided the original team of 6 crew with enough food for about 50 sols. How long? Well, he estimates it’s 1400 sols (Martian days which are 24.5 earth hours long) until he will be rescued. He has to use a lot of science and maths to make it through a range of hairy survival situations.Īstronaut Mark Watney is marooned and it looks like he’s going to be stuck on the planet for a long time.
Matt Damon plays an astronaut who is presumed dead in an accident and left behind on Mars. The fantastic “ The Martian” film came out in 2015 and itself was based on the equally good book by Andy Weir published in 2011.
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