The Martian Blog #3 (pg 216 - 369)

I have just finished The Martian by Andy Weir, and this is one of the most fascinating books I have read in a while. After the Hermes crew decide to go back for Mark, he still needs to be at the site of the Ares 4 Mission, which is 3,200 kilometers away. Mark starts to prepare the rover once again, this time with the help of NASA, through communications through an old rover called pathfinder. Nasa advises Watney to use the second rover as a trailer and connect it to his modified rover. They also tell him to make a hole in the hull of the trailer which can be attached with canvas for extra space. The problem is that the only thing mark can use to a hole is a drill by making small holes along the perimeter of the circle. He calculates this will take him 21 sols due to the drill quickly heating up and is designed for use on rock samples.  Also, the battery of the drill only last 240 minutes and takes 41 minutes to charge. For this reason, Mark hardwires the drill to the HAB for constant power. On sol 196, he stops the drill for it to cool down and goes for a break. When he comes back the drill does not work. Watney then discovers he has lost communications with Mars due to pathfinder´s electronics being fried. After he reset the breaker, the drill starts up again but there is no way to get pathfinder back online. He realizes that he will have to get to the Ares 4 site by himself and uses morse code, by placing rocks, to tell NASA that he will be getting to the site by himself. Watney then plans on how he is going to integrate the oxygenator, atmospheric regulator, and water reclaimer into the trailer while using the least amount of energy as possible. He needs all the energy he can get to maximize the range. He discovers that the oxygenator takes the most amount of energy while heating the liquid O2 to a gas. Watney once again decides to use the RTG, the radioactive plutonium that produces a lot of heat to solve the problem. After the rover and trailer almost being ready, Mark starts to conduct tests and adds weight by placing rocks in the trailer, to determine how long it will take him to get to the Ares 4 site. He pulls his back and decides to take a week off and takes a bath using the RTG. He uses the solar panels on the hab and puts a total of 28 solar panels on the rover, plus an extra one just in case. The Ares 3 crew talk to their families who all partially disagree with their decision of going back for Mark. Mark then cuts canvas from the HAB and designs a bedroom that attaches to one of the roverś so he can get some extra space. Watney having packed the rover completely spends 5 days test driving near the HAB and sets off on sol 449. Before leaving he shuts off the HAB like the crew would have done on sol 39, and experiences the quietness of the empty HAB and Mars without the machineryś whirring sounds. Weir adds a sense of suspense when the engineers at NASA see that there is a dust storm coming on the route of the rover. If Marks drives too far in, it will be too dark to charge the solar panels; which means he will not be in time for Hermes to pick him up. Watney reaches Arabia Terra, rough and harsh terrain on Mars. He miscalculates his navigation and ends up on the edge of Marth Crater. Watney learns there is a dust storm right over him and has to decide which side of the Crater to go. He makes up an experiment to measure where the storm is going to be in order to avoid it and is successful in calculating that he will have to go south.

 Mark then smoothly reaches the Schiaparelli Crater. The author Weir describes how the ¨entrance ramp¨ in the Crater is loose in some areas. As Watney goes down the ramp the trailer flips over. Watney survives because there is no breach in the rover. Watney records himself saying ¨ I am not going to let something like this stop me from getting there” I am too close. Watney fixes the rover and eventually gets to the Ares 4 MAV. Watney prepares the MAV for launch while the crew gets ready to receive him. Everyone is ready, and Watney launches the MAV but there is a problem when a part of the canvas rips off the MAV. Watney is too far and the ship is going to fast for the crew to intercept him. Watney says that he cut a hole in his glove and us it as thrust to get to the Hermes ship, but the plan is vetoed by captain Lweis who plans an explosion in an airlock and uses that thrust to slow down the ship. The bomb is exploded and Beck, tethered to the ship, reaches out to grab Watney and bring him back. Captain Lewis responds back to NASA and claims all six crew members are safe aboard the Hermes Ship. Mark makes his last log entry labeled as mission day, not sol; realizing all the people and money this cost and how his rescue was evidence that humanity dedicates to science and protect one another. At the end of the book, he claims that ¨This is the happiest day of my life.

In the last part of the book, Mark continues to show his perseverance. Mark does not give up in any circumstances including when he loses communications with NASA, when he has to get past the dust storm, or even when the rover flips over. Mark really struggles to survive; he keeps working through his problems and figuring out what to do. The crew also shows bravery when they accept the risky and dangerous plan to rescue Mark. All the families of the crew disagree with their decisions such as Martinezś wife and Johanssenś father. Multiple themes and lessons can be taken away from the book. The most prominent lesson learned from the book is to never give up like Mark Watney, The Martian.