BOOK REPORT

„THE MARTIAN” BY ANDY WEIR

 CONTENTS

• GENERAL INFORMATION
• CHARACTERS
• SUMMARY
• EXCERPTS
• ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
 GENERAL
INFORMATION
• TITLE: The Martian
• AUTHOR: Andy Weir
• GENRE: Science
Fiction
• SETTING: Acidalia
Planitia (Mars),
Schiaparelli crater
(Mars), Houston Space
Center, Jet Propulsion
Laboratories, etc.
• PERIOD: 2030s

Map of the Martian surface provided in the book

CHARACTERS
 M A R K WAT N E Y
Ares 3 astrobotanist and engineer, our
protagonist.

He is the mission's astrobotanist and mechanical

engineer, which means he is tasked with
studying plant growth in space as well as fixing
any potential equipment malfunctions. Over the
course of the book, we learn a lot about him. He
grew up in Chicago, and passionately supports
the Cubs. He considers Rick Martinez to be his
best friend.

Mark shows compassion, empathy and most of

all self-reliance and independence. He is
intelligent and charismatic. In an interview with
the author Andy Weir it was mentioned that he
was chosen for the mission because of his
golden-retriever-like personality, which ties the
entire crew together.

Pictured is Matt Damon acting as Watney in the

film adaptation.
 RICK MARTINEZ
Although he makes a few crass jokes here and
there, Rick is a supportive friend and a brilliant
pilot. He is mentioned to have served in the US
Air Force, as well as being married with a
child. When the opportunity to rescue Mark
came up, he immediately agreed and was
willing to risk his life for him. 

Pictured is Michael Peña in the role of Rick

Martinez in the film adaptation.
 MELISSA LEWIS
She is the stoic and stern commander of the
Ares 3 mission. Lewis studied Oceanography
and obtained a PhD in Geology. Her mission
role, aside from the commander, is to study
Mars geology. She is also happily married. The
Lewis couple are avid disco enjoyers and their
hobby is collecting disco records and
memorabilia.

Pictured is Jessica Chastain who portrayed her

in the film adaptation.
 BETH JOHANSSEN
Beth is a huge computer nerd who is the
crew’s computer scientist and ship reactor
technician. She is described as conventionally
beautiful and blonde, (Watney mentions that
her poster outsold all of the other crew
members’ combined), as well as being scarily
intelligent. She is romantically interested in the
crew’s doctor, Chris Beck. We also learn she
enjoys Agatha Christie novels and the band
The Beatles. The only mentioned family of
hers are her parents.

Pictured is Kate Mara portraying her in the

film adaptation.
 CHRIS BECK
He is the flight surgeon, with a degree in
Biomedical Science. Additionally, he is the
EVA (Extravehicular activity) specialist who
operates on the outside of the Hermes. He is
romantically interested in Beth Johanssen. The
only family of his mentioned is his sister, who
seems to be interested in Mark Watney.

He is portrayed by Sebastian Stan in the film

adaptation.
 ALEX VOGEL
The only mission astronaut who does not
operate under NASA, Alex works for the ESA
(European Space Agency). He is German. The
book mentions his wife Helena and two
children (affectionately “monkeys”), Victor
and Eliza. Additionally, Vogel cares for his
demented mother when not in space. His
mission roles are Chemist, Navigator and
Astrophysicist.

He is portrayed by Aksel Hennie in the film

adaptation.
OTHER CHARACTERS

Venkat Kapoor, Ares program manager Mitch Henderson, Ares 3 flight director
OTHER CHARACTERS

The-martian-bruce-ng.webp

Teddy Sanders, NASA administrator

Bruce Ng, director of JPL in California
OTHER CHARACTERS

Mindy Park, NASA satellite specialist, discovers

Mark Watney is alive
Annie Montrose, NASA chief of public
relations
OTHER CHARACTERS

Rich Purnell, astrodynamicist behind the

Purnell manouver.
SUMMARY
 SUMMARY
• After an uneventful first six Sols (solar days) on Mars, the Ares 3 mission is interrupted by a
strong wind storm. The crew is forced to evacuate, but on the way to the MAV, an antenna tears
loose and impales astronaut Mark Watney through his suit's biomonitor and radio device. After
a short and unsuccessful search for him, the rest of the Ares 3 crew is forced to abandon him on
Mars. The Houston Space Center is notified, and a memorial is held.
• Watney, as it turns out, survives this ordeal, but with no long-range radio he has no way of
contacting the rest of his crew. His survival depends on his resourcefulness, and we are there
along the way as he explains his thoughts and projects in a log. His philosophy of "working the
problem" turns out to be successful a large majority of the time. With his food limited, he
cultivates potatoes inside the Hab, using water made from hydrazine (rocket fuel).
 SUMMARY
• NASA discovers he is alive when Mindy Park, a satellite specialist, notices changes in his
environment. They start planning a rescue mission, but avoid breaking the news to the rest of
his crew, who are by now aboard the Hermes and safely on their way home.
• Watney's plan and only obvious sign of hope is to travel to the landing site of Ares 4, over 3200
kilometers away in Schiaparelli crater. First, though, he makes a 20 day trip (a mission he calls
Sirius 4) to retrieve a non-functioning lander Pathfinder and its rover Sojourner, in hopes of
reestablishing contact with Earth through its radio systems. Sirius 4 is successful. 
• Mitch Henderson, flight directer of Ares 3, convinces NASA administrator Teddy Sanders to let
the crew know what is happening with Mark. They are thrilled, but their commander Lewis is
guilt-stricken because she feels it is her fault he is there.
 SUMMARY
• The fabric of the Hab tears near one of the airlocks since it wasn't meant for extended use.
Mark manages to fix it, however his potato plants are dead, putting him at risk of starving
before he can be rescued. NASA quickly prepares an unmanned probe with food for him,
ignoring safety protocols in lieu of an earlier launch. The probe disintegrates after liftoff
because of its unbalanced load. A deal is made with the China National Space Administration to
use their booster, the Taiyang Shen, in exchange for a few spots on a future Ares mission.
• Enter Rich Purnell from NASA astrodynamics, who suggested a manouver nicknamed the Rich
Purnell Manouver. It involves the Hermes spaceship slingshotting around Earth, using the
Taiyang Shen to refuel in the meantime, and travelling back to Mars to pick up Mark. Mark
would be using the Ares 4 MAV to enter low orbit and reach the ship. Teddy Sanders vetoes
this idea, but Mitch Henderson disguises it as a picture file and emails it to the crew. They
approve of this plan and start a mutiny, changing the trajectory of Hermes against the orders
from Houston. Taiyang Shen docks with the ship successfully.
 SUMMARY
• Watney works on modifying his rovers for the 50 day mission to the Schiaparelli crater and
accidentally shorts out the electronics in Pathfinder, losing contact with Earth. He continues to
send messages to them by arranging rocks into Morse code.
• He leaves for Schiaparelli, and NASA finds out he will intercept a dust storm, which will
lessen the charging speed of his solar cells, which in turn will make him miss the window of
opportunity he has to save himself. They have no way to warn him, but luckily Watney notices
the drop in efficacy and avoids the center of the storm. He reaches his destination after a rover
rollover at the descent into Schiaparelli and gets to work in modifying the MAV. His job is to
make it thousands of kilograms lighter in order to let him reach Mars orbit. 
• Complications arise during launch, and the crew has to slow down the ship significantly to
reach him. Chris Beck, the EVA specialist and doctor, uses an MMU to rescue him and bring
him inside the ship.
EXCERPTS
“He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and
that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does
that have on a man’s psychology?” He turned back to
Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”

LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control

whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.” 

I chose this excerpt because I appreciated the comedic contrast of the people on
Earth worried for Watney and his exact thoughts at that moment. To add to the
hilarity, that was the entire day’s log.
 “I guess you could call it a "failure", but I prefer the
term "learning experience".”  

This excerpt was chosen because even though it is supposed to be funny, it is good
advice. If we focus too much on our shortcomings and think of them negatively, we
may never stop and learn from them enough to try again.
 “If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will
coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line
up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people
all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is
so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture
without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't
care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people
who do.”
I like this one because of its honesty. Humans tend to help others even if the others
they are helping are absolute strangers. It’s a feel-good quote because it reminds me
that the world isn’t actually awful and there’s actually great people out there.
 “I can't wait till I have grandchildren. When I was
younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In
an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me?
Mars!”

I just think this one is funny. And true. Have you ever had your parents go “Oh, you
should be THANKFUL you’re going to school! When I was little, we walked for
MILES! Uphill! Both ways! In the snow!” It gets annoying, if a little funny.
 “Problem is (follow me closely here, the science is
pretty complicated), if I cut a hole in the Hab, the air
won't stay inside anymore.”

I LOVE this quote purely because of how well it represents the complexity of this
book, or rather how simple it actually is. It is not difficult to follow and it doesn’t
pretend to be for “smart people” just because it’s about space. It’s just a funny,
heartwarming book.