MovieChat Forums > Passage to Mars (2016) Discussion > Bad Science

Bad Science

posted 8 years ago by stopedancer
2 replies | jump to latest

This is nicely shot, there is no doubt about that whatsoever. And that's the last good thing I will say about it.

The relevance of this expedition to Mars exploration is.... zero. Yes - zero. There is nothing to be done, nothing to be learned, nothing to be gained from this Arctic expedition that has any relevance to being on, living on, the exploring of Mars.

For starters, what is it they are actually 'testing'? What is it that is 'experimental' or 'innovative' about their vehicle or their expedition?

I could tell you right now, without leaving the comfort of my home, that a diesel engine would be of as much use on Mars as it would be on the Moon - which would be 'none'. Ditto for an open-to-atmosphere gearbox, transfer case and pair of differentials - the oil would boil off in a short amount of time, rendering them useless. The radiator would pop and release its fluid. Brake system - the same. Anything with fluid in it - the same. Grease in uni-joints, ball-joints, tail shaft sliders, the off the shelf aftermarket and decidedly non-innovative bolt on mini-tracks would seize in short order. Shock adsorbers will rupture and fail. Various items will suffer cold metal embrittlement and fail.

The bit where a snowmobile shoots back to Resolute to grab a spare was particularly ridiculous. What's the analogy to Mars exploration there? Shoot a message back to Earth and get a wee little FedEx rocket to send you a spare? How ill thought out was this expedition, if it did not bring appropriate critical spares along?

The crew would struggle tremendously themselves to live. Heat, for one - the polar regions of Mars being an order of magnitude colder than here on Earth - cold enough to freeze Carbon Dioxide out of the air - which is what the majority of the Martian poles consist of. And breathing air - if we're really testing a system, surely we'll be strapping them into suits? No?

I saw a Garmin GPS unit being used to navigate - no, that's not going to work on Mars either.

The Mars polar regions are unlikely to be anything like the poles on earth. Formed mostly from Carbon Dioxide, they are unlikely to sit on a layer of liquid water. Stresses and cracks caused by sitting on a giant body of water do not exist.

Agh - there is just too much wrong with this that it's impossible to see how it attracted any funding. An interesting documentary, it would have been a lark to be along for the ride, but as far as Martian science goes - it's pure balderdash. Ripe, putrescent garbage.

[–] csecet 8 years ago

Another thing to worry about with fluid powered machinery, even sealed and closed to the atmosphere, is temperature. LC130's that fly workers and scientist to the South Pole have to worry about hydraulic fluid freezing at -40F. This isn't a problem during summer with constant daylight keeping the Antarctic warm, but in winter with constant darkness that is a major problem. Temperatures can drop to -70F or more, making air flight difficult. This is why sometimes you hear about medical patients being stranded in Antarctica; the dark and cold making a medical evacuation very difficult. I remember seeing an old video where the plane doesn't stay on the ground long, and while down there are airfield workers scrambling to keep the plane and its engine warm for takeoff. This documentary doesn't even come close to addressing such issues, Mars is much colder during nightfall. Don't see fluid powered machinery as a practical option, more likely electric motors and actuators.

[–] waynemilosh-92051 8 years ago

I believe you missed (didn't listen) the whole point of the expedition.
First, when you make a training for Mars, you make it on Earth... First. As all the experiments conducted by NASA and ESA on various levels.
In thais case, they learn a lot about long range crossing on board a vehicle in an extreme milieu (yes they didn't sucked out the Earth atmosphere to make it more "Martian-like" - they learn about decision making, logistics.
No, it's not ridiculous to send the scout to go get a spare part. On Mars, rovers will range in the same manner, from a central base camp - roving back and forth, with back up units.

As fas as the science goes, you should enlist in NASA and JPL, you sound far more knowledgeable than they are, because this film, as we see on the credits, has been entirely connected, written and checked by NASA, ESA and JPL. Just saying :)

You really have to dig into the Mars science sir and also to understand the purpose of the expedition which is not - unless I did miss the point - a Martian milieu simulation - but a long range rover crossing. Also check the "Mars 500" experiment and the recent Martian experiment in Hawaii (Damn, they did a Mars Experiment in Hawaii!! There are no palm tree on Mars, no oxygen and no ocean! How could have NASA missed this interesting detail that you have discovered :)...