How Plausible Is ‘Project Hail Mary’? Astrophysicists Have Thoughts

 

 

 "In some ways, this is silly. “Project Hail Mary” is a work of science fiction, emphasis on the fiction. And while it’s possible to get caught up in the wattage of a light saber or the precise speed a warp drive allows, such speculation is extraneous to the stories. But this movie is based on a novel by Andy Weir (“The Martian”), who writes hard science fiction, which blends imagined tales with fact, or at least plausibility. As Weir said recently, scientific accuracy is his “whole shtick.”

So discussions of the science of “Project Hail Mary” aren’t exactly ancillary. Armchair physicists and even some actual physicists have powered countless online threads with questions around interstellar travel, alien life and why Grace, who has a doctorate in microbiology, can’t seem to balance a centrifuge."

read review by  ALEXIS SOLOSKI