Katie Khan
asked
Andy Weir:
Congratulations, I really enjoyed the novel. Did you have to do a lot of research into the physics of space, (potatoes), and Mars? Has anyone called out any factual errors since it's been published?
Andy Weir
See this question for general info about the science in the story: https://www.goodreads.com/questions/2...
There are factual errors in the book. The largest is the sandstorm at the beginning. The atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% as dense as Earth's. So a real Martian windstorm has so little momentum that it would not present any threat. But I deliberately looked the other way on that for dramatic purposes.
There are a few unintentional minor problems here and there, but for the most part, the feedback I'm getting from scientists is that it's accurate.
There are factual errors in the book. The largest is the sandstorm at the beginning. The atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% as dense as Earth's. So a real Martian windstorm has so little momentum that it would not present any threat. But I deliberately looked the other way on that for dramatic purposes.
There are a few unintentional minor problems here and there, but for the most part, the feedback I'm getting from scientists is that it's accurate.
More Answered Questions
Harry Brake
asked
Andy Weir:
Some points during the text, I felt overwhelmed with the details of Science, Biology, and the chemical reactions needed for simple survival. Yet, it subsided and all turned out perfect, riding it out as a reader it "jelled." Did you ever feel that too much detail in those areas would lose some readers if they did not come back from that particular background?
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