The Martian

This chapter features the first flashback to the accident that left Watney stranded. Although the reader already knows what happened from Watney’s point of view, this is the first time the narrative shows the event from a third-person point of view and reveals the entire story. Also for the first time, the reader meets Commander Melissa Lewis and the rest of the crew: Major Rick Martinez, Dr. Chris Beck, Alex Vogel, and Beth Johanssen.

On the morning of the incident, the crew are performing their routines and duties when they learn that a storm is heading their way and is classed as “severe” by NASA. They huddle in the Hab and watch the wind, which climbs to 100, then 125 kilometers per hour. If winds reach above 150 kph, they will have to abort the mission, get in the MAV, and return to the Hermes. Their mission would be over but incomplete. Finally, Commander Lewis is forced to abort the mission, and the crew begin making their way through the storm to the MAV. While on the way with the rest of the crew, Watney gets hit with wreckage (an antenna from the communications dish). It knocks him off his feet and he is lost in the dust of the storm. The crew stay for as long as possible, with Lewis scanning the area on foot, until the MAV is at risk of tipping and they are forced to leave. Because the antenna has pierced his biomonitor, they believe Watney is dead.

The chapter then flashes into the present, and for the first time, the reader is aboard the Hermes and meets the crew in the present time. They are gathering for a communication from Mitch Henderson, in which he tells them bluntly that Watney is alive. They are all shocked, but Commander Lewis is especially affected, as it was her decision to leave him behind.

Throughout this chapter, Watney’s mission log is interspersed with italicized passages about a particular section of Hab canvas. These sections concern the manufacture of the fabric as well as its earlier installation into the airlock of the Hab by crew members Lewis and Beck. Though these passages’ relevance is initially unclear, the reader will soon learn the fabric’s importance.

Watney is now receiving “data dumps” and has gotten several interesting emails. One message from his alma mater, University of Chicago, tells him that because he has grown crops, he has technically colonized Mars. In another message, NASA tells him they are working on a new plan to have the Ares 4 crew pick him up in their MDV on their way to the Ares 4 site. Watney also gets his first email from Commander Lewis aboard the Hermes, as well as a communication from Venkat that there will be an investigation into the accident to see if there is anything that could’ve been done differently to save him.

Watney is also frustrated with NASA. Now that they are in contact with him, they try to dictate his every move, even though he was recruited for his independence and problem-solving. One example of NASA’s micromanagement concerns the water reclaimer, which is not working properly. NASA won’t allow him to fix it until they figure out what he should do, but he is pretty sure he knows what is wrong with it. And so, consistent with his character, he dissembles the water reclaimer and—because he is right about what is causing the problem—is able to fix it.

As Watney prepares for his second potato harvest, a sandstorm develops and hits the Hab. The airlock is torn away from the Hab with Watney inside, caused by that small piece of fabric that was featured in the italicized sections. The Hab deflates, the airlock has a leak, and his faceplate is broken. Suddenly, although everything was going well, he is in life-threatening danger.

This chapter switches briefly to an audiolog transcript as Watney dictates from his position in the airlock. There is a tiny leak in the airlock that he cannot locate. He feels like giving up and, after having a tantrum, settles down and starts problem solving. He finds the airlock leak by shaving off some of his arm hair, lighting it on fire, using plastic to build up a static charge, and then touching it with a metal tool. Before he does this, he notes that this is exactly how the Apollo 1 crew died. He is finally able to patch the airlock with duct tape and, through a series of maneuvers, rolls the airlock to within reach of the deflated Hab. Taking the risk of running for the Hab with his damaged helmet, he is able to retrieve Martinez’s helmet from the Hab and returns to the rover.

Now that the urgent problem-solving is done, he surveys the Hab. The soil of his farm has been frozen, as has everything in the Hab, and so the bacteria in the soil are dead. This means that he will not be able to grow any more food. The potatoes he was about to harvest have been frozen, but they are dead. He once again faces the problem of how he will feed himself long enough to meet up with the Ares 4 MDV. He may starve before the Ares 4 MDV arrives.