NASA Experts Assess the Science of Project Hail Mary

The blockbuster film Project Hail Mary, which has generated over $400 million in global revenue, depicts a dramatic interstellar mission. NASA officials and academic researchers have evaluated the scientific concepts at its core—from interstellar travel and astronaut health to microbial science and alien communication—providing a real-world assessment of their plausibility.

Interstellar Travel: A Distant Future

Lisa Carnell, division director for NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, stated that human travel to a star like Tau Ceti, located 11.9 light-years from Earth, is not currently possible.

Carnell noted that current technology is not yet prepared for human missions to Mars, which is significantly closer than any star. She did not rule out the possibility of such travel in the distant future, citing historical technological advancement in fields like aviation and space exploration.

The Health Challenge of Long-Duration Spaceflight

For missions with extremely long travel times, experts indicated that novel medical solutions would likely be necessary.

Torpor State: Carnell stated that a medically induced coma or hibernation state, known as torpor, is not currently considered realistic for a mission to Mars but might be required for deep-space missions measured in light-years. She cited a lack of data on the long-term safety, feasibility, and cognitive effects of torpor in humans, describing related research as being many years away.
Effects of a Prolonged Coma: Medical experts detailed the severe challenges.
- Dr. Shyoko Honiden and Dr. Rummana Aslam, associate professors at Yale School of Medicine, stated that patients in medically induced comas experience significant muscle wasting, estimated at a rate of approximately 2% per day during bed rest.
- They stated that a patient emerging from a four-year coma would require extensive, long-term rehabilitation and would not be able to move normally immediately.
- Dr. Honiden noted that significant brain dysfunction can follow medically induced comas, and the long-term neurological effects of a coma lasting years are unknown.
- Dr. Aslam added that skin breakdown, or pressure injuries, can develop within 24 hours to a few days for bedbound individuals.

Radiation: A Known Hazard in Space

Lisa Carnell expressed skepticism that a civilization capable of interstellar travel would be unaware of radiation risks, which she described as pervasive in space.

She outlined NASA's current methods for managing radiation risk:

Using satellites to track space weather.
During solar particle events, directing astronauts to areas of a spacecraft with more shielding, such as sections containing stored water.
For missions beyond Earth's magnetosphere, designing dedicated storm shelters with added protective material.

Breeding "Super" Microbes

Nathan Crook, an associate professor at North Carolina State University, stated that selectively breeding microbes to enhance specific traits is not entirely implausible but varies significantly by microbe.
He explained that the speed of adaptation depends on the microbe's existing genetic makeup. Crook stated that "you can't evolve something from nothing," meaning a microbe must have pre-existing genes that perform a similar function.
He noted that evolution experiments often show periods of improvement followed by plateaus and that accidentally evolving inconvenient secondary adaptations is a realistic possibility.

Artificial Gravity: For Health, Not Labs

Lisa Carnell stated that artificial gravity is not necessary for conducting laboratory work in space, citing over two decades of experiments performed in microgravity on the International Space Station.

She said that if a centrifuge were added to a spacecraft, its primary purpose would likely be to benefit human health on long-duration missions by helping to mitigate muscle atrophy and bone density loss.

Communicating with an Alien Intelligence

Linguistics and animal communication researchers assessed the film's portrayal of interspecies communication.

Martin Hilpert, a professor of linguistics, stated the film "gets a lot of things right," including the use of iconicity and pointing, but noted it relies on "happy coincidences" in these shared understandings.
Irene Pepperberg, known for her work with the parrot Alex, noted the film's assumption that different civilizations would share common nouns and pointed out that differences in sensory perception would pose major challenges.
Arik Kershenbaum, an associate professor at the University of Cambridge, stated that having two individuals with a shared scientific or engineering goal would facilitate the communication process.
Jeff Punske, an associate professor of linguistics, stated that the timeline for achieving fluent communication depicted in the film was "way too fast."

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