Project Hail Mary: In Conversation With ITMO Physicist

Based on the eponymous novel by Andy Weir, the movie tells the story of microbiologist and science teacher Ryland Grace, who finds himself on a spaceship with no memory of how he ended up there. 

If a phenomenon like the infrared line between Venus and the Sun shown in the movie were discovered in reality, how would it be studied?

First, it would be studied with a space telescope, which would allow us to analyze its spectra. In general, that’s how various space phenomena are investigated: a radio telescope in Earth orbit analyzes radiation from deep space, this information is evaluated, and that’s how it’s done. Next, if we needed a sample, we could send a probe. For example, such a probe was sent to Saturn. The probes are equipped with analytical equipment and the results are sent to the Earth. We can receive this information even from outside the Solar System; for instance, the Voyager probes are still transmitting. 

Would this probe return to the Earth?

Usually, they are not designed that way. A sample-return mission is much more difficult, but in principle it is possible. We already have examples of extraterrestrial material being delivered to Earth, so if there were a compelling scientific reason, one could imagine a return mission as well.

If we were able to get the samples delivered to Earth from Venus, how would they be studied? Especially if, like in the movie, we suspected that the particles in this sample are living microorganisms. In the movie, the main character studies them in a portable lab. 

Well, that’s what the genre requires. Remember, in Alien, we can also ask ourselves how it can be that trained personnel – who would be required to leave the body compromised by an alien creature – decide to just observe it and see what happens. 

I never conducted biological research but, as far as I understand, all dangerous or even potentially dangerous materials are studied in specially prepared laboratories that are meant to first and foremost protect the researchers and isolate the substances they study. There has to be a closed ventilation system and the study itself can be conducted by robot manipulators. So, that scene in the movie is mostly due to the genre. Such conditions could be explained if, say, in a zombie apocalypse some surviving researchers were studying the zombie virus with whatever equipment they could salvage. Real studies are not conducted like that.

If we were to find microorganisms in space, would it make the headlines?

Of course, because it would mean that we are not the only ones. If there are organisms that live outside of Earth, it means that there is life that didn’t originate on our planet. But scientifically, the first question would be whether this was truly independent extraterrestrial life and not contamination. That would be very cool and we all dream about it. For example, telescopes within the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) initiative analyze electromagnetic radiation trying to separate signals that could be transmitted by an extraterrestrial civilization. 

What is the possibility that if we discover such a civilization, it’s a friendly one?

Well, it’s not zero. It’s hard to say because we know nothing about it and all our guesses are largely based on fantasies and expectations. In a sense, it’s a question of faith. It’s like in The X-Files, of which I used to be and still am a fan; Mulder, the main character, had a poster saying “I want to believe.”

Are there other projects, apart from SETI, dedicated to this topic? How popular is this research?

My impression is that this is now a niche rather than a mainstream field, but the interest certainly has not disappeared. There are still SETI-related programs and technosignature searches, although they are not at the center of modern physics or astronomy funding. That is understandable: we still have enormous unsolved problems much closer to home, from dark matter to many open questions in cosmology and particle physics.

The movie's main character is a molecular biologist forced to go to space. As a result, he ends up alone on a spaceship with a high-stakes mission. What would a molecular biologist need to know to survive in space?

To be honest, I don’t think that a regular researcher without any training and with no connection to Earth would be able to handle it. After all, astronauts are trained professionals. They need to be able to dock a spaceship and even manually calculate trajectories, and be able to save themselves and their expensive spacecraft in extreme conditions, under pressure. They pass rigorous selection. I think we could take a random researcher to space, if their health allows, but we shouldn’t expect them to jauntily handle whatever happens or possess some extraordinary survival skills. But we need superheroes in movies.

Space isn’t studied at ITMO, but there are studies of elementary particles. How close are these two research areas?

The two areas are closer than they may seem. Particle physics studies the fundamental laws of nature under controlled laboratory conditions, while astronomy and astrophysics test whether those same laws hold across enormous distances, times, and environments. Light from distant objects reaches us with a delay, so in a sense the Universe also lets us look into the past. By comparing astronomical observations with laboratory measurements, we can ask whether the physical constants and interactions we know here have remained the same over cosmic time. That is why these fields can be deeply connected.

One interesting line of research, including the work associated with Dr. Mikhail Kozlov from the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute and collaborators, asks whether the fundamental constants inferred from astronomical spectra agree with those measured in laboratories.

Would you rate such movies in general positively or negatively, given that, as we’ve discovered, their science isn't always too accurate?

I would absolutely rate it positively! Of course, why not? I love science fiction. I think, just like any great novel, it has the power to distract us from our routines. Literature is about our dreams. We love beautiful things, heroic characters. It’s inspiring and that’s why we love it. That’s why it’s wonderful that such movies exist, especially if they are about kindness and great values. It also takes some imagination to show science as something cool, so, like we did with the hackers who type at the speed of light, we invent images of scientists that will be engaging. After all, it’s not a movie that aims to teach microbiologists to survive in space, nor does it aim to teach us physics. It teaches us something about the things we value – and that’s wonderful.