Astrophysicist Andy Howell takes a look at the science of Ad Astra. For more see the article on Gizmodo:
https://gizmodo.com/what-ad-astra-gets-wrong-about-space-travel-astronomy-1838363861
My favourite part was all the talk of it being a full-moon on the way but once on the surface of lunar they look back at earth and it is also illuminated... um, that’s not how it works. The side of earth facing them should have been in darkness.
Oh, and IRL we’ve been flying boosters back to the landing site for years now, yet in this future we’re still discarding spent first and second stages? Okay...
I saw this earlier this week, I could tell from the trailer it was not going to be science focused, was still pretty good though. Thank you for your analysis, You did a great job as always.
There are 2 different types of space movies. The first ones are science fiction movies about space ( Interstellar, Sunshine) the second type of movies are soley set in space but are not about space ( Passangers, Paneorum, Ad Astra)
You left out the worst mistake. When Brad enters the rocket and they have the floating space fight on an aggressively accelerating rocket. They would be pinned hard in their seat.
My first thought when Brad Pitt decides to use the the shockwave of the nuclear blast to propel him back to earth was, "Wait . . . He's on the other side of the rings of Neptune. Isn't the shockwave going to hit the rocks first, turning the whole explosion into a giant nuclear shotgun blast and shred Brad and his ship into tiny dime-sized pieces?"
Yes the physics was bad, but the primary purpose of this movie was definitely to highlight the psychological challenges of space exploration. I'm a physics student but I've come to terms with bad science in movies (love you Interstellar) and have learned to appreciate the underlying messages in these movies
I particularly enjoyed the scene in which Brad Pitt's character somehow managed to grab onto a hatch and enter the rocket's going to Mars with 2 or 3 seconds on the countdown without a sweat. It looked highly realistic IMO.
This is one of my favorite movies. I’m aware that the science isn’t perfect but the mood and story had me going. I can totally respect your opinion though. Really enjoyed the video.
First I thought they were building a space elevator and I thought: cool
Only after the film did I realize it was an antenna... So many missed opportunities
Let’s also talk about how all of the asteroid impacts on his shield would have slowed him to a stop and sent rocks hurling toward his ship (if he were accurate) or if he angled to deflect the rocks away from his ship he would have changed his own trajectory. Begin to hit rocks he wasn’t shielding himself from, and still come to a stop.
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Oh, and IRL we’ve been flying boosters back to the landing site for years now, yet in this future we’re still discarding spent first and second stages? Okay...
Ad Astra: "Hold my beer..."
Physics: "Let me stop you right there."
Only after the film did I realize it was an antenna... So many missed opportunities