Can a man live on potatoes alone?

Technically, the traditional white potato contains all the essential amino acids you need to build proteins, repair cells, and fight diseases. And eating just five of them a day would get you there. However, if you sustained on white potatoes alone, you would eventually run into vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

What did Mark Watney eat?

potatoes
According to The Martian, Watney is on Mars for 540 days, however, around 60 of those days was spent eating dried food sent for the original mission. This means that for 480 days, Watney ate only potatoes.

How many potatoes did Matt Damon eat in the Martian?

One of the keys to Watney’s survival is twelve fresh potatoes sent with the astronauts to Mars for a Thanksgiving meal during their trip. He uses those 12 potatoes to grow more potatoes, which, when combined with vitamin pills and rations, keep him alive for a year and a half (549 sols to be precise).

Why could mark Watney not grow more potatoes?

Airlock Breach When Airlock 1 breached, causing a gaping hole in The Hab, the potatoes were freeze dried and the bacteria in the soil assumed dead. Because of this Mark was unable to grow any more potatoes and could only eat the ones he still had with him.

Can you survive only on potatoes?

Man doth not live by bread only Surprisingly, potatoes offer a complete protein if you eat enough, over 10 per day. But you would ultimately encounter deficiencies in vitamins A, B12 and E, and calcium and selenium if you keep to just potatoes. Potatoes are slightly toxic, too.

How did the Martian survive on potatoes?

He was not surviving on JUST potatoes. Potatoes were his main source of Calories, which was used to spread out and let his other rations (which were full meals) last longer. Rather than eating a ration pack every day… He could eat a ration pack every 4 days or so and eat Potatoes in the meantime, between rations.

What else will Watney need to grow his potatoes?

To fertilise the potatoes, Watney turns to the only organic material present on Mars: human waste. This has been stored outside of the base, in foil packages, and he rehydrates all the waste with water to create a slurry.

Does Matt Damon live in The Martian?

The astronauts in The Martian relied on their own creativity to save Watney. Spoiler alert — Watney does survive the events of the movie. But the fact that Watney survives is less important than why he survives: his creativity, as well as the creativity of everyone trying to bring him home.

How long could you survive on potatoes?

He told LiveScience he first consulted with a doctor and dietician to confirm he could go 60 days on just potatoes. You need healthy kidneys to process the excess potassium delivered by 20 potatoes a day.

Why did he grow potatoes in The Martian?

Mark watney had some potatoes in the base camp. As being a Botanist he had great plant knowledge. He used his stool to make the Martian soil fertile. The Martian soil though has iron but is not fertile so for manure he grows potatoes in his own stool.

Could The Martian grow potatoes?

In The Martian, potatoes are successfully harvested after 48 sols (a Martian solar day – 24 hours 39 minutes long), but the success of the venture does not last: Watney’s potato-growing is put to an abrupt end as the front of his habitat blows off, exposing his entire crop to the Martian air.

How did Martian potatoes survive?

Martian Potatoes. In order to survive, he, being a botanist, grows potatoes on the parched planet under controlled conditions and actually manages to survive for a long time (he also has vitamin supplements through pills, by the way).

How did Mark Watney grow potatoes on Mars?

Mark watney had some potatoes in the base camp. As being a Botanist he had great plant knowledge. He used his stool to make the Martian soil fertile. The Martian soil though has iron but is not fertile so for manure he grows potatoes in his own stool. The Rock reveals the best success hack everybody needs to try.

Is it possible to grow potatoes on Mars?

Yes, he grows potatoes on Mars. He takes the soil and uses his feces as a fertilizer to make it work. Researchers at NASA and International Potato Center have conducted some experiments.

How did Mark Watney make the Martian soil fertile?

Mark watney had some potatoes in the base camp. As being a Botanist he had great plant knowledge. He used his stool to make the Martian soil fertile. The Martian soil though has iron but is not fertile so for manure he grows potatoes in his own stool.