10 Science Fiction Films Based on Science

Science fiction is a literary and cinematographic genre that can reveal to us the consequences or advantages of future technological advances, social problems and possible adventures to be experienced in space expeditions. However, sometimes those passionate about the theme have doubts whether these films have any scientific support that proves that fiction can become reality and, perhaps, be part of our daily lives in a few years.

O awesome.club investigated some productions of the genre to find out if there are studies or interviews with experts attesting to the veracity of the data present in each film, however fanciful they may seem at first glance.

The film premiered in 2015 and tells the story of an astronaut named Mark Watney, who disappeared after a storm during an expedition to Mars. It shows how he survives with the few resources offered by the planet, while waiting for rescue. So we see him growing potatoes using the crew’s droppings, to have something to eat.

Lost in Mars it is one of the most accurate science fiction films, due to the fact that the author and director have consulted a lot with NASA experts to make the plot as realistic as possible. Although the Martian soil is toxic to vegetables and plants in general, it is believed that some organisms can live in it and facilitate cultivation on the planet. An article published by NASA claims that it is possible to grow plants in small bags that contain fertilizer and nutrients. This technique can work as a strategy to obtain food rations, considering that supplies can take an average of nine months to arrive from Earth.

2001: A Space Odyssey is another good film that is characterized by its scientific rigor and addresses different themes related to the genre, such as alien life, artificial intelligence and human evolution. The plot centers on an expedition to Jupiter, in which the astronauts are taken in a spaceship commanded by an Artificial Intelligence called HAL 9000, which ends up rebelling against them.

Although we didn’t manage to go beyond the Moon, the film predicted some technological inventions like the tablet, video calling and virtual assistants, although these didn’t reach the level of HAL. However, a study reveals research developed to create an AI based on HAL, which they called CASE. However, it was not possible to develop something similar to what is seen in the film.

the plot of Lunar is about a mining company in charge of extracting a new mineral found on the Moon, known as Helium-3. For that, they send Sam Bell to the hidden face of the satellite, where he stays for three years, accompanied by Gerty, a robot with artificial intelligence, programmed to protect him.

The scientific community has confirmed the existence of Helium-3 and revealed that NASA is working on it. Currently, it is speculated that this material could serve, in the future, as a source of energy. There is also believed to be a greater amount on the Moon than on Earth, due to its encrustation in the upper layer of the lunar regolith by a solar wind that emerged millions of years ago.

This film is set in 2054, when a police group known as Pre-Crime uses three individuals with the ability to see the future to catch criminals before they carry out murders. One day, they predict that the group’s boss, John Anderton, will commit a murder, which leads him to decide, among other things, to have eye surgery to avoid detection by the cameras installed in the city.

In the film there are two technologies that could be applied in the real world, such as multisensory interfaces and retina scanners. The first was developed by Microsoft for its Xbox and represented a great innovation in the use of technological items with motion detection. The second was developed by a Manhattan company that plans to install scanners to detect people by scanning the retina.

Interstellar is the story of a NASA pilot named Joseph Cooper who, in the mid-21st century, is summoned to be transported through a wormhole in order to search for a habitable planet, capable of guaranteeing the perpetuation of the human species. However, due to an accident, he and his companions are left on their own in a strange world, and for every hour they spend there, seven years pass on Earth.

This film is most impressive for its scientific accuracy regarding wormholes and black holes, according to a physicist named Kip Thorne, who also served as a scientific consultant and producer on the film. With his equations, he was able to pinpoint the possible physical aspect of a real wormhole and set the guidelines for each scene to be as reliable as possible, according to the laws of physics.

Gattaca — The Genetic Experience It’s about a futuristic society where parents decide what they want their children to look like, so their descendants can enjoy better health and a greater chance of a successful life. This causes the division of people between the “genetically superior” and the naturally born – and the latter are destined to perform the less rewarding jobs, such as cleaning or auxiliary services.

With the advances of genetic engineering in the scientific field, many moral and ethical discussions arose about the implications of modifying a person’s physical appearance, among which is the discrimination of certain social groups. Currently, genetics are used to detect diseases in the prenatal period, but it is likely that in a short time it will be possible to do something similar to what happens in the film.

An alien-themed movie could not be missing from the list like Contact, whose plot deals with a scientist named Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway, who dreams of proving the existence of extraterrestrial life. One day, she detects a radio signal that transmits some numerical codes and, after deciphering them, discovers that it is a description of a machine capable of transporting someone across the universe.

Although life on other planets has not been proved, there is a real case of a radio signal capture of unknown origin, performed by a radio telescope in 1977 and which, to date, remains the most reliable proof that the transmission come from outer space. However, this topic is still far from being included in science due to the lack of concrete data to prove the theories.

The use of virtual assistants is already a reality, but this film raises the possibility of relating to a software, only present in electronic devices. The plot deals with Theodore, a lonely man who writes letters to order. One day, he installs an operating system on his computer, as he learned that the program offered personalized service according to the user. This is how he meets “Samantha”, whose female voice captivates him and he ends up falling madly in love with her.

A real-world equivalent of “Samantha” is “Eliza,” a program created in 1996 to provide support to anyone seeking therapy. Eliza’s problem is not being able to give comprehensive answers and being unable to get all the information given to the user right, so its creator stated that the programs are still far from replacing the human being.

primer tells the story of two engineers researching how to reduce the weight of objects. For this, they build a machine with unexpected results and end up creating a time machine. After several experiments, they decide to build a prototype capable of transporting a single person to the past, but at the risk of aging if it remains inside the artifact for too long.

The film was produced by mathematician Shane Carruth, interested in considering time travel based on his own knowledge of the topic. The construction of the machine is also based on scientific principles, such as the elimination of gravity, the use of a material called palladium, and the use of a diagram that establishes the physical parameters of time travel.

Lastly, it’s Gravity, which deals with space travel. The plot centers on Ryan Stone, on his first mission aboard a spaceship with other astronauts, among whom is Matt Kowalski. However, due to some space debris, some communication satellites are destroyed, causing the death of the entire team, except Stone and Kowalski.

The film addresses the problem of space junk and the dangers faced by astronauts on the space station, because of the debris that orbits the planet. It is a daily struggle that the crew must deal with when they are in orbit, which makes this profession one of the most risky today.

What interests you most about science fiction? Would you like some of the scientific inventions or theories to be applied in our reality?