The Martian
He begins a log of his experiences. His philosophy is to "work the problem", solving each challenge in turn as it confronts him. With food a critical, though not immediate, problem, he begins growing potatoes in the crew's Martian habitat the Hab , and burns hydrazine to generate water for the plants.
NASA eventually discovers that Watney is alive when satellite images of the landing site show evidence of his activities; they begin devising ways to rescue him, but withhold the news of his survival from the rest of the Ares 3 crew, on their way back to Earth aboard the Hermes spacecraft, so as not to distract them.
He begins modifying one of the rovers for the journey, adding solar cells and an additional battery. He makes a three-week test drive to recover the unmanned Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover and brings them back to the Hab, enabling him to contact NASA. Mitch Henderson, the Ares 3 flight director, convinces NASA Administrator Teddy Sanders to allow him to inform the Ares 3 crew of Watney's survival; they are thrilled, except for Lewis, who is guilt-stricken at leaving him behind.
The canvas at one of the Hab airlocks tears due to Watney's repeated use of the airlock, decompressing the Hab and nearly killing him. He repairs the Hab, but his plants are dead, threatening him again with eventual starvation. Setting aside safety protocols due to time constraints, NASA hastily prepares an unmanned probe to send Watney supplies, but the rocket disintegrates after liftoff.
A deal with the China National Space Administration provides a ready booster —planned for use with the Taiyang Shen, an unmanned probe—to try again. However, astrodynamicist Rich Purnell devises a "slingshot" trajectory around Earth for a gravity assist [7] that could get Hermes back to Mars on a much-extended mission to save Watney, using the Chinese rocket booster to send a simpler resupply probe to Hermes as it passes Earth. Sanders vetoes the "Rich Purnell Maneuver", as it would entail risking the other crewmembers, but Henderson secretly emails the details to Hermes.
The Martian
All five of Watney's crewmates approve the plan. The resupply ship docks with Hermes successfully. Watney resumes modifying the rover because the new rescue plan requires him to lift off from Mars in the Ares 4 MAV. While working on the rover, Watney accidentally shorts out the electronics of Pathfinder , losing the ability to communicate with Earth except for spelling out Morse code with rocks. After Watney leaves for Schiaparelli, NASA discovers that a dust storm is approaching his path, but has no way to warn him. The rover's solar cells will be less and less able to recharge, endangering both the rendezvous and his immediate survival if there is not enough power to run his life-support equipment.
While crossing Arabia Terra , Watney becomes aware of the darkening sky and improvises a rough measurement of the storm's shape and direction of movement, enabling him to go around it. He receives instructions on the radical modifications necessary to reduce the MAV's weight to enable it to intercept Hermes during its flyby. After takeoff, the canvas tears, creating extra drag and leaving the MAV too low for the rendezvous. Lewis hastily improvises a plan to intercept the MAV by firing Hermes ' attitude thrusters and then blowing a hole in the front airlock with an improvised sugar-and-liquid-oxygen bomb, using the thrust from the escaping air to reduce speed.
In a final log entry, Watney expresses his joy at being rescued, reflecting on the human instinct to help those in need. The major characters in the novel are: Andy Weir, the son of a particle physicist and electrical engineer , has a background in computer science.
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He began writing the book in , researching related material so that it would be as realistic as possible and based on existing technology. Having been rebuffed by literary agents when trying to get prior books published, Weir decided to put the book online in serial format one chapter at a time for free at his website. At the request of fans, he made an Amazon Kindle version available at 99 cents the minimum allowable price he could set.
Podium Publishing, an audiobook publisher, signed for the audiobook rights in January The book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list on March 2, , in the hardcover fiction category at twelfth position [13] and remained on this list for four weeks [14] without going above eleventh position. James ' Grey , before returning to the top position on September 6, The Martian was published in print by Crown on February 11, An audiobook edition, narrated by R.
Bray and released by Podium Publishing, preceded the print release in March on Audible.
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The audiobook was nominated and won an Audie Award in the Science Fiction category. A Classroom Edition, published by Broadway Books in May , contains educational materials and uses school-appropriate language. A German publication of an interview with Andy Weir and survial tips for living on Mars was published, titled "Der Mars Survival Guide", tying in to the novel and movie. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said that "Weir laces the technical details with enough keen wit to satisfy hard science fiction fan and general reader alike.
He's a wiseacre with a tendency to steer well clear of existential matters. Solanum watneyi , a species of bush tomato from Australia, was named after the fictional botanist. In March , Twentieth Century Fox optioned the film rights, and hired screenwriter Drew Goddard to adapt and direct the film.
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The script was launched atop a Delta IV Heavy on the flight lasting 4 hours and 24 minutes, landing at its target in the Pacific Ocean. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A Novel hardcover edition cover. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. Written by 20th Century Fox. Science fiction has been one of the genres churned out many times, most turning into capers with few exceptions like Apollo 13 or Gravity. The story seems more for pleasing the crowd rather than accomplishing a rich literary work; but whatever it does seem flawless and detailed for which the film becomes gripping throughout despite its over length.
Based on a novel of the same title, the film pretty enriches your knowledge on astronomy for which it can serve a very good resourcce. Matt Damon in the title role steals the show using much of wit to his role, avoiding sentimentality, and above all, tries something different than the desolation portrayed by Tom Hanks in Cast Away or Leonardo Di Caprio in "The Revenant.
How scientifically accurate is The Martian? | Film | The Guardian
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Full Cast and Crew. An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Drew Goddard screenplay by , Andy Weir based on the novel by.
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Top 50 Highest Grossing Actors at the U. Share this Rating Title: Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. User Polls Saturn Award Nominated for 7 Oscars. Learn more More Like This. The Imitation Game Life of Pi Guardians of the Galaxy Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Mark Watney Jessica Chastain Melissa Lewis Kristen Wiig Annie Montrose Jeff Daniels Rick Martinez Sean Bean Mitch Henderson Kate Mara Beth Johanssen Sebastian Stan Chris Beck Aksel Hennie Alex Vogel Chiwetel Ejiofor Vincent Kapoor Benedict Wong Bruce Ng Mackenzie Davis