The Martian – Ridley Scott

A man alone on Mars, more than 3,000 kilometres from the spacecraft that can save him. With hardly any food. On a planet with no oxygen, no water, and extreme temperatures. He has only his scientific knowledge. Would he survive? How?

This is the starting point of Andy Weir’s novel, self-published in 2011 and made into a film with great commercial success by the legendary director Ridley Scott.  It recounts the odyssey of astronaut Mark Watney over the more than 500 sols (Martian days) he spends on the red planet.

With the exception of a few more or less acceptable details, the story of this space Robinson Crusoe has a great scientific rigour and is one of the best recreations ever made of the red planet, which was filmed in Wadi Rum in Jordan.

Regardless of whether the astronaut survives or not, the film raises one of humanity’s great questions: could potatoes be grown on Mars?