The Martian

I saw the poster for a movie called "The Martian".  It surprised me with the title and the face of an astronaut.  I thought it might be one of those horror type science fiction where something came up out of the dust of mars.  

Do you remember watching shows about martians growing up? I think we all did.  There were a few shows on that I saw in reruns or on Saturday morning cartoons.  I don't even remember when I saw them the first time but they had a lasting impression.

One of the first series I remember seeing in reruns was a crazy one called "My Favorite Martian"  I have no idea who starred in it but I do remember the older guy's antenna would grow out of his head when he wanted to disappear or at the wrong moment.  I think a Martian crashed on the planet and was found by the human who tried to help him survive on Earth.  It was a comedy and I think it starred the guy who played the original Hulk.

The second Martian appeared on the Bugs Bunny Show.  Marvin the Martian who kept trying to invade earth, ran into Bugs Bunny, and fought a losing battle. In all the time I watched the Roman looking Martian, he always lost.

So when I saw the movie poster for "The Martian"  I had no idea what it was about until I got to watch it on a trip.  It was totally different than I could have predicted.  Imagine, actually having a character who thought things out, acted upon those thoughts, and set up a sustainable system to help him survive until he could be rescued.

Did you know the technology he used could be used if we decided to settle on on planets or other space bodies.   There is research going on in the Netherlands to see if some of the earth plants can be grown in a colony on Mars.  NASA created a soil similar to that found on Mars using materials from Hawaii and Arizona.  Then adding in human poop for nutrients and such, they planted several crops that might be taken with the first settlers.

These scientists planted tomato, rye, radish, pea, leek, spinach, garden rocket, cress, quinoa, and chives, The results were quite interesting.  The yield from the Mars ended up being slightly less than those grown on the Earth.   The problem is that the soil on Mars is filled with heavy metals which can end up in the plants which means if humans eat the plants, the heavy metals could end up in their bodies.

Its interesting to find out the science in this movie is possible. 

Enjoy watching it yourself and remember Marvin the Martian and My Favorite Martian as you see this movie......LOL