62-Episode Sci-Fi Adaptation Deserves Kudos For Accurately Showing Space Travel

Most space operas in the sci-fi genre care little about the science of space travel and more about grandiose narrative scope and drama. Even some of the most acclaimed installments from the most popular franchises, like Star Trek and Star Wars, lean into storytelling conventions borrowed from naval history and fantasy.

However, Prime Video's The Expanse is a rare sci-fi series that takes science quite seriously. Considering how the sci-fi genre is usually more about fiction than real science, it leaves enough room for shows and movies to bend rules and even defy logic to some degree. Owing to this, The Expanse, too, takes many leaps and liberties.

Despite this, though, The Expanse tries to have some semblance of realism with its depiction of space travel. This, in turn, ensures that its drama feels incredibly immersive while the story beats and struggles of its characters remain relatable. In its 62-episode runtime, it even maintains consistency when it comes to following its established set of sci-fi rules, which makes its space drama feel even more plausible.

The Expanse's Space Travel Is The Most Plausible In Sci-Fi

One of the most plausible aspects of The Expanse is its portrayal of gravity. It shows how gravity only seems to exist inside a spaceship when the engines are making it accelerate. Instead of introducing magical devices that allow artificial gravity to exist, the show captures how artificial weight is created in a ship through inertia.

Speaking of acceleration, The Expanse also understands how a spaceship cannot suddenly push the breaks and stop anywhere in space. It respects Newton's Third Law of Motion by showing how a ship must travel halfway to its target destination while accelerating before flipping one 180 degrees and firing the engines in the opposite direction.

Even the show's portrayal of how exposure to heavy G-forces can harm humans. Owing to this, The Expanse's characters strap into high-G couches and even inject themselves with "the juice" to survive emergencies. The ones who live in places with low gravity even experience extreme physiological changes like thinner bone densities and elongated spines.

The Expanse also accurately shows how instantaneous communication cannot exist in space. Since planets are separated by light years, a message sent from Earth can take over 30 minutes to reach Jupiter. Even when it comes to the science around gun recoils and ship design, The Expanse tries its best to ensure accuracy.

The Expanse's Answer To Galactic Travel Is Different To Other Franchises

To make its realistic sci-fi elements seem a little more plausible, The Expanse also introduces the Epstein Drive. It is portrayed as a fictional fusion engine that allows ships to maintain constant high acceleration for several days straight without any significant loss of energy. Even with this scientific concession, though, The Expanse understands that humans cannot realistically travel beyond their solar system.

Since interstellar travel is practically impossible in a single human lifespan in the show, The Expanse introduces the Protomolecule. Instead of having faster-than-light ships and simple wormholes, it shows how humans have to rely on alien technology to be able to unlock intergalactic travel.

While this does not necessarily add more realism to the show's story, it does highlight how distinct The Expanse is from most other space opera offerings in sci-fi. Perhaps this is why many still hope that the show will return someday and finish its run.