Introduction
The Author
Andrew Taylor Weir, also known as Andy Weir, is the author of the novel The Martian which was later made into a film with the same name. Weir was born to an accelerator physicist father and an electrical-engineer mother in California. He attended UC San Diego, studying computer science, but later dropped out and worked as a programmer for AOL, Blizzard and Palm.
His science-y upbringing is what lead him to being interested in space exploration and science fiction. Throughout his twenties, Weir wrote science fiction that he published to website http://www.galactanet.com/ and created a web comic called Casey and Andy which centered on himself as a mad scientist. The story to really jump start his writing career was his short story “The Egg” which has since been translated into over 30 languages, adapted into a short film and been the inspiration for the famous rapper Logic’s 2017 album “Everybody.” After the success of “The Egg”, Weir started writing The Martian with the aim to make it as scientifically accurate as possible. His book had a very humble beginning. The book was originally published for free on his website, but later made it available on Amazon Kindle for only 99 cents. After shooting to the top of Kindle’s bestsellers list, Crown Publishing Group approached Weir. After publishing, the book topped at #12 on The New York Times bestseller list. The book was later made into a film by the same name.
Since the success of The Martian, Weir has published a second novel titled Artemis and released a collection of sci-fi short stories called The Principles of Uncertainty. Also in the works is a pilot written by Weir called Mission Control.
The Martian Character List
Mark Watney
Mark Watney is the main character in the movie. Watney works as a botanist as part of the Ares 3 crew. Watney is a charismatic, funny character who, as crew member Johannsen admits, is everyone’s favorite crew member. The movie follows Watney’s struggle to survive on Mars after he is accidently stranded by his crew during a huge dust storm which forces them to evacuate the planet. Throughout the movie, Watney cleverly solves each life-threatening problem.
Commander Lewis
Commander Lewis is the stern, but smart leader of the Ares 3 crew. She stoically guides her crew through the difficult challenge of saving Watney from Mars. Although her crew loves her, they jokingly describe her as having a stale personality. While stranded on Mars, Watney often complains about having to listen to her dated disco music. Lewis has a deep founded love for her crew and will be the first to put her life on the line to save them. When saving Watney from his low orbit around Mars, she fearlessly goes on a space-walk to save Watney, even willing to undo her safety rope to reach him.
Rick Martinez
Martinez is the head pilot in the Ares 3 crew. Martinez is one of the crew to be most affected by the loss of Watney as him and Watney share a deep bond. Watney and Martinez are often joking together and Martinez was the first person to find out Watney was alive and the first to communicate with him. Martinez is a religious guy, as Watney uses his wooden cross to start a fire.
Beth Johanssen
Johanssen works for the Ares 3 crew as head of communication and computer engineering. Not much is known about Johanssen. She falls in love with fellow crew member Beck and is seen at the end of the movie having a child with Beck.
Chris Beck
Beck works for the Ares 3 crew as the flight surgeon and EVA specialist. He falls in love with fellow crew member Beth Johanssen and marries her after the mission is over.
Vincent Kapoor
Kapoor works for NASA as the Director of the Mars Mission. Kapoor is part of the reason that Watney was found to be alive as he insisted to the director that they retarget imaging satellites to his location to try and find his body. He is the director of the Mars Mission, Ares 3 so throughout the movie he is responsible for Watney’s survival and rescue. He facilitates the communication between Watney and JPL while consult him on the mission equipment.
Teddy Sanders
Sanders is the head of NASA and functions as the tough business guy archetype. He approaches problems practically and is very frank with everyone. He wants to save Watney just as much as everyone else, but is more realistic about the situation.
Mitch Henderson
Mitch is the Hermes Flight Director. He cares a lot for his crew and tries his best to negotiate on their behalf with Teddy Sanders, the head of NASA. He is forced to resign at the end of the movie for approving of the crews technical mutiny.
Vocabulary
Radioisotope thermoelectric generator: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/rps/docs/APP%20RPS%20Pu-238%20FS%2012-10-12.pdf
Gravity Assist: http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age14-16/Astronomy/text/Slingshot_/index…
Centrifugal Force: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/150-people-in-astronomy/space…
Synopsis
The Martian takes place on Mars where the NASA Ares 3 mission has landed to explore the planet. Before the mission is complete, an immense dust storm forces the crew to evacuate their laboratory and return home. While traveling from the laboratory to the escape ship, crew member Mark Watney is struck by a radio antenna. Watney is knocked unconscious and separated from his crew leaving them to believe he is dead. The crew launches without Watney, leaving him stranded on the planet.
The story follows Watney and his struggle to survive and hopefully return home. Watney is faced with many challenges that force him to put his scientific knowledge to the test. There are many moments where it looks dire for Watney, but with his quick wit and the help of NASA, Watney has a shot at making it home.
Why I Chose The Martian
I chose to do my Webquest project on The Martian for a few reasons. Firstly, it was one of my favorite movies from the last few years and inspired me to pursue engineering in college. Secondly, I had analyzed the movie for a physics project. In my physics project I had analyzed the physics phenomenon in the movie and tried to explain the processes. Because of the previous project, I had the story fresh in my mind and it made it easier to create this project.