For those who don't know, The Space Between Us is a 2017 drama/sci-fi that follows Gardner Elliot, the first human born on Mars, as he travels to Earth to meet his online friend and experience all that Earth has to offer.
The idea of a human mission to Mars is definitely a long-term future goal but the Spacecrafts featured in this movie are actually already existing or in development. The Spacecraft shown in the mission is a real design that can take astronauts out of the Earth's orbit. Another aspect of the movie is communication, and this is where the writers took a futuristic approach. The film shows instant sending and receiving but in reality, it would take about 7-10 minutes for a message to reach Earth from Mars so this aspect of the movie is definitely unrealistic for the present time. The writers of the film worked off the idea of Quantum communication, a concept that considers two particles interacting simultaneously. This idea is currently being tested, but just like human missions to Mars, it's a long-term future concept.
The movie discusses a lot of space travel themes but the big question is; can Gardner survive on Earth after living on Mars from the moment he was born? Would his body be able to handle Earth? [Spoiler] The movie discusses this issue and the decision is made that, no, he cannot live on Earth and returns to Mars. Now obviously my first question is whether this outcome would be real or not but the main question I want answered is; if it's not possible right now, how far into the future will the technology be available to be able to travel between Earth and Mars with no physical issues? Let's see if we can find an answer to this question.
The movie is actually based off a fair bit of science and fact so the events in the movie regarding Gardner's health are pretty accurate.
There is no protocol for the event of an astronaut discovering that she is pregnant in space. This doesn't really fit into the science of it all but the problem is that the effects on the baby's development, if born in space, isn't fully known and this can cause major issues for space travel in the future, especially if it ends up becoming mainstream. The film shows specific unusual developments such as Gardner being taller than normal and his bones being thin and weak which is known as osteogenesis imperfecta. While on Earth he also has considerable issues with his enlarged heart which prevents the flow of oxygen to the rest of the body as a result of decreased blood flow.
All these issues are factual for someone who would have grown up in Space. The last post I did regarding the effects of space travel on the human body was measured on a person who had spent one year in space, not sixteen, so I don't feel that the information from that post applies here. The truth is, I don't even know where to begin to consider if it would be plausible for someone in Gardner's position to live on Earth after spending sixteen years on Mars. This has also never been tested to this extreme, but the closer the idea of mainstream space travel comes to being a reality, the more this kind of research will be necessary.
I predict that living in space to this magnitude will not be possible in the short or medium-term future, but the long-term future of about 50+ years.
If you want to read more on this topic, I've linked some sources down below. As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
https://www.space.com/35647-the-space-between-us-spaceflight-science.html
http://now.northropgrumman.com/effects-of-space-travel-on-the-human-body-before-during-and-after/
The Space Between Us. (2017). [film] Directed by P. Chelsom. New Mexico: STXfilms.