Questions tagged [the-martian]
A science fiction novel by Andy Weir framed as the journal of Mark Watney as he attempts to survive alone on Mars after being abandoned there in an emergency. In 2015 it was adapted into a film starring Matt Damon.
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Why do the Ares missions not use a lower pressure pure O2 atmosphere?
I just re-read the book The Martian, and a question came to mind:
Why did the Ares missions use a 1 atm nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere instead of a lower pressure pure oxygen one?
AFAIK, pure oxygen is ...
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In Andy Weir's The Martian, how did each astronaut plan to commit suicide?
I have a vague memory of astronaut Johanssen having brought heroin on board as her 'preferred method' of suicide... but haven't been able to find this described in the book. Any help greatly ...
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The Martian sprinkles crushed Vicodin on his potatoes -- is this explained more in the book?
Vicodin is extremely bitter. It may of course meant that he was not seasoning his potatoes but wanted to have the effects of Vicodin and was just fooling around.
But could it have been, bitter though ...
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Why was the MAV crew capsule seemingly designed for re-entry?
In the movie version of The Martian, the MAV's crew module seems to be designed for atmospheric entry. It has a shallow, gumdrop shape, reminiscent of the Apollo or Orion capsules, and what looks like ...
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What changes were made for the second edition of 'The Martian'?
I read Andy Weir's novel The Martian when it was first released as a Kindle edition. Some time after that I got a notification from Amazon that a second edition was available, which downloaded ...
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Why did the soil go infertile after the hab depressurised?
When watching The Martian, it seems self-evident that the potato plants did not survive being frozen – but what made the soil infertile?
Soil freezes around the Arctic Circle every winter but plants ...
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After the airlock blew, how much food does Mark have left?
After the airlock blew, how much food does Mark have left?
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Why didn't Ares include comsats?
As shown in the book/movie, each mission had its own gear capable of communicating with Earth, which seems redundant, yet still only be able to do so while the Earth is above the horizon.
However, ...
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Why didn't Mark Watney try to salvage a radio from previous presupply mission probes?
NASA sends presupply missions ahead of the Ares missions which are tracked by NASA the entire time to ensure they arrived intact. Why didn't Watney try to salvage a radio from one of those presupply ...
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Andy Weir's The Martian: getting more calories from chemical reactions? [closed]
For those who haven't read Andy Weir's book, the main character - Mark Watney - is stranded on Mars and has to find a way to get enough calories to survive until rescued.
He has access to proteins, ...
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In this scene from the novel, 'The Martian', by Andy Weir, how does Mark Watney store hydrogen made from water in the tank?
This is the scene from chapter 25, where Watney describes how he had produced and stored hydrogen, which he produced by electrolysing water.
I need clarification of the bold part.
LOG ENTRY: SOL 529
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Why did the Mars team drag 56 days of food into the Hab for a 31 day mission?
In this answer trying to explain what it meant that the Hab was designed for a 31-day mission Valorum points out the book says:
The surface mission was supposed to be thirty-one days. For ...
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Is there any "in universe" link between Matt Damon's character in Interstellar and The Martian?
I was just wondering because both movies star him as an astronaut trapped on an isolated planet. They also had fairly close release dates. I am wondering if there is a link between the two characters ...
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Why didn't Mark Watney lose all of his water when the hab exploded?
Wouldn't the atmosphere on Mars sublimate all of his water supply? He even says that the water reclaimer's tubes burst due to the event.
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In The Martian, why did NASA design the HAB to last only 31 days?
At 17:11, Watney says that NASA designed the habitat to last for only 31 days on the surface of Mars.
Why did they not design something to last longer?
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