Jennifer Lawrence’s Sci-Fi Movie Passengers Praised by NASA Astronaut

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A science fiction movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, which sparked mixed reactions from viewers, has been commended by a NASA astronaut for its accurate portrayal of a genuine scientific principle. The film, released in 2016, features Lawrence and Chris Pratt as passengers on a spaceship traveling to a new colony, who unexpectedly wake up 90 years before they should have.

When Passengers came out, many people were surprised by its darker themes, as the movie was initially promoted as a romance. Despite this, the film’s depiction of space travel is reasonably accurate, according to former NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield. He explained that the spinning technology used to simulate gravity is essential for any extended journey through space.

In a Vanity Fair video, astronaut Chris Hadfield explains that long-term weightlessness isn’t sustainable. He raises concerns about how growing a baby in zero gravity could affect their development, as their bodies might not grow properly. To create gravity in space, especially far from planets, Hadfield suggests spinning the spacecraft. This creates centrifugal force, pushing people towards the outside of the ship and simulating the feeling of gravity – similar to how a centrifuge works.

You know, one of the really cool details they thought through for the movie Passengers is how the ship’s rotation works. Apparently, if they turned off the mechanism that spins the ship, it wouldn’t just stop instantly. It would keep going for a long time because there’s nothing to really slow it down. And that’s actually a key plot point! When the ship does stop spinning, everything inside becomes weightless, just like on the International Space Station – total chaos!

Hadfield points out something strange: when the ship begins to lose power, it unexpectedly slows down. He explains that stopping all that spinning metal would require strong brakes, and he wonders why the ship didn’t simply continue rotating as it approached the asteroids. While that might have been a more dangerous outcome, it would have been an even worse situation, he adds.

Passengers’ Stunning Pool Scene Is Mostly Accurate

As a movie fan, one scene in Passengers really stuck with me – the filmmakers absolutely nailed it. It’s when Jennifer Lawrence’s character is swimming and suddenly the gravity fails, leaving her suspended inside a bubble of water. It’s a visually stunning moment and they handled it beautifully.

Imagine the spaceship stops rotating, so everyone is weightless. Now, picture one of the astronauts in a swimming pool. What would happen to the water? We experimented with water a lot on the International Space Station. You could spray it, and it would simply float in mid-air. Because of surface tension, it would naturally form a perfect sphere – that’s the easiest shape for water to take in zero gravity.

He explained that if a swimming pool were suddenly without gravity, the water wouldn’t just float away. Because of its momentum as the ship slowed down, it would initially slosh around. Eventually, it would likely coalesce into a large, spherical blob, which he felt was accurately depicted in the demonstration.

While fascinating, being inside that bubble would be incredibly disorienting. It would be hard to figure out which way is up, and therefore, which way to swim. Even if you started swimming in a direction, the bubble’s movement could actually pull you further away from the surface.

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Chris Hadfield commented that the scene was realistic if you accept the idea of a swimming pool in space. However, he pointed out that the way the scene played out wasn’t entirely probable. Spinning the ship to create artificial gravity would take significant time and force to move such a massive object. The movie showed gravity instantly returning, slamming everyone to the floor, which isn’t how it would actually happen. But, Hadfield admits, that instant effect made for a more dramatic and visually powerful moment, allowing a crew member to dramatically resurface from the water and survive.

I was hoping to find Passengers on one of my streaming services, but it looks like it’s not included with any subscriptions right now. Luckily, you can still rent or buy it digitally if you’re interested!

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2025-12-24 01:41