In Ridley Scott's new movie The Martian an astronaut named Mark Watney (Matt Damon) spends months trapped on Mars after being left behind by his crew during a storm on the surface. He stays alive—and in touch with NASA—thanks to ingenuity and some serious botany skills.
But could an astronaut really pull that off? We asked some folks at NASA, which offered scientific guidance to the filmmakers behind The Martian, just how likely would it be for someone to survive the way Watney does.
Turns out, it’s pretty possible.
Check out the video above to find out which parts are very likely (that whole hacking a lander to communicate with Earth thing) and which parts are less so (that storm on the surface of Mars).
