[jmacusa]

Mars is subjected to wind storms with wind speeds of 400 mph for weeks at a time. A lot of the surface of Mars is made of silica, the stuff would be like shrapnel.

[Renfrew]

“Mars is subjected to wind storms with wind speeds of 400 mph for weeks at a time. “

But Mars’ atmosphere is 1% as dense as the Earth’s so those winds have the force of a 4 mph breeze.

That was the biggest error in the Martian movie. The wind on Mars would have no effect on their spacecraft beyond a light coating of dust.