Other mistake: During the storm scene in the beginning of the movie, the astronauts' faces inside the helmets are brightly lit, meaning there's a light source pointed directly in their face. That's something that would render them mostly blind and unable to see and appears to be nothing but a dramatic effect for the camera. (00:05:00 - 00:08:00)
The Martian (2015)
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Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara
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More mistakes in The Martian
Mark Watney: I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet.
Trivia: The secret project created to use the Hermes to return to Mars to rescue Watney was called Project Elrond, a reference from the Lord of the Rings (also used in the original book of The Martian). Mitch Henderson, played by Sean Bean, was an attendee at the Project Elrond meeting. Sean Bean also played Boromir, who was an attendee at the Council of Elrond in the LOTR movie.
Question: Exactly how long has Mark Watney been alone on Mars during the course of the movie?
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Answer: In the book, he's stranded on sol 6, and leaves on sol 549, making it 543 sols (554 days). In the movie, he's stranded on Sol 18 and leaves on sol 561, making it 542 sols.