![]() While lightning hasn’t been photographed on Mars, it could certainly happen in dust storms as Rice explains. This differs to those shown in the movie as they descend from clouds but there just simply isn’t enough atmosphere for that to actually occur as tornadoes do on Earth. Unlike dust devils on Earth and depicted in the movie, actual Martian dust devils are wispy and thin and form from the ground up. Dust devils are fairly common on the red planet, and have been observed by Mars rovers and satellites. While this depiction isn’t the best, the other weather phenomena shown in the Martian aren’t just another piece of movie magic. Observing exoplanets from the Lowcountry- a moment … This type of event proved to be the end for NASA’s Opportunity rover, which was killed by one in 2018. Mars’ dust is roughly the size and consistency of talcum powder, which gets suspended in the atmosphere and can almost completely block out the sun in massive dust storm. A 60 mph wind gust on Mars would feel closer to 6 mph on Earth.Īs such, this dramatic dust storm would be a breeze, and certainly wouldn’t blow someone away. While that threat is overexaggerated, the thick clouds of dust within these storms (which can be global in scale) can be catastrophic to anything relying on solar power. ![]() Mars’ atmosphere is a hundred times thinner than ours and with less molecules to be blown around, the force exerted by wind is much, much less. While massive dust storms on Mars can have hurricane force winds, it won’t pack the same punch as it does on Earth. “It is physically impossible for wind to do that there.” It’s a gripping start, but “man was it bad science,” says Rice. The Martian begins with a catastrophic dust storm on Mars that leaves astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, presumed dead and stranded on Mars.
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