The Martian (Weir novel)
2014 hardcover edition cover
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| Author | Andy Weir |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | R. C. Bray |
| Cover artist | Eric White |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Published | February 2014 (Crown) |
| Media type | Print, e-book, audio |
| Pages | 369 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 890014492 |
| 813/.6 | |
| LC Class | PS3623.E446 M37 2014 |
 Geological map of Mars showing the route of Watney. From the Commission on Planetary Cartography. |
The Martian is a 2011 science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. It was his debut novel under his own name. It was originally self-published in 2011; Crown Publishing purchased the rights and re-released it in 2014. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in the year 2035 and must improvise in order to survive.The Martian, a film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, was released in October 2015.
In 2035, the crew of the NASA Ares 3 mission to Mars are ordered to lift off from their landing site in Acidalia Planitia six days into their planned month-long stay due to an intense dust storm which threatens to topple their launch vehicle. During the hurried evacuation, astronaut Mark Watney, a botanist and mechanical engineer, is impaled by an antenna that was torn loose, flung out of sight by the wind and believed dead. Lewis, the mission commander, has no choice but to abandon the search for him, as the launch vehicle teeters dangerously.
However, Watney is not dead. His injury proves relatively minor, but with no way to contact Earth, he must rely on his own resourcefulness to survive. He begins a log of his experiences. With food a critical, though not immediate, problem, he begins growing potatoes in the Hab, the crew's Martian habitat, and burns hydrazine to make water for the plants.
NASA eventually discovers that he is alive when satellite images of the landing site show evidence of his activities; they begin working on 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.
Watney plans to drive 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) to Schiaparelli crater where the next mission, Ares 4, will land in four years. 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; his crewmates are thrilled, except for Melissa Lewis, who is guilt-stricken at leaving him behind.
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