Character Analysis: Stranded On Mars

Stranded on Mars is a difficult situation, but being alone and a slim chance of being rescued Mark is unlikely to survive. With the crew that left Mark returning to save him, he must travel over 3,200 kilometers in a modified rover that is not intended to travel that far. With limited food, air, and water his chances of making it to the rescue zone are not great, but Mark is persistent to try and save his life regardless. Evaluating why Mark is on Mars, predicting if he will be rescued, and visualizing the planet Mars was simple since the author did an outstanding job writing this book.

While reading The Martian, the reader can evaluate why Mark is on Mars alone and if he has the supplies and skills to survive on Mars until he is rescued.

I believe that Mark will rescued by the Hermes’s crew, who left him on Mars in the first place because they thought he was dead. Mark needs to survive long enough to be rescued with the limited supplies he has. The crew is traveling back to Mars: “If we do everything perfectly, we add five hundred and thirty three days to our mission” (Weir 211). During that time, anything could wrong on Mars and kill Mark, which would be a complete waste of time for the Hermes crew. Mark is an engineer and a botanist and certainly has the skills to survive until he can be rescued. I also predict that Mark will once again have communication with NASA. Mark did have communication with NASA, but the system he was using broke. The circuit shorted out and the computer was unable to be fixed, even for an engineer. Mark is very intelligent and will find a way to continue to communicate with NASA because it is the only way for him to get rescued. Mark is able to use other computers around the Hab to restore communication. Without NASA Mark has no information about his rescue from his crew aboard the Hermes spacecraft. The rescue could become chaotic very quickly and easily. I predict that Mark will be rescued and will have communications with NASA once

I picture the Hab as a giant dome with a vast amount of computers and specialized equipment. There are many bunk beds and a large kitchen with many astronaut food bags scattered everywhere. I imagine dull colors in the Hab that appear lifeless and boring. Inside the Hab, it is very commodious and comfortable. I can picture piles of dirt on the floor with remnants of old potato plants from the garden laying on the floor. I imagine the giant tare in the Habs canvas that was repaired after the explosion that occurred in the Hab. I can see the Hab looking very out of sorts on Mars, especially with all of the bright red dust. Furthermore, I visualize what the planet Mars looks like from the view of an astronaut. I believe that there are enormous craters that were formed from asteroids thousands of years ago. I also picture a copper red dust covering everything in sight. I see tiny rocks and huge boulders covering much of the planet: “But as I travel farther south, the rocks are getting bigger and more plentiful” (Weir 99). I imagine, remains of a river that was once there when water was still on the planet. Visualizing the Hab and the planet Mars helped me understand the book in much greater detail.

Reading The Martian, the reader can evaluate why Mark is on Mars alone and if he has the skills and supplies to survive on Mars. I predict that Mark will be rescued from Mars and that he will once