THE MARTIAN, Week Four

1. CHAPTER 22

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• The map above shows the land Watney covers in this chapter. Again, navigation is critical. After all, it's not like he has GPS at his disposal. So, what object does he depend on to get LATITUDE, and what tools does he use to obtain LONGITUDE?

• For latitude, Watney uses a tube, a string, a weight and something with degree markings to make a sextant, and he can tell the his current latitude by using it to observe the Deneb. This is an ancient navigation technique. For longitude, it becomes more complex. He has to know the precise time (he has four computers that can do that) when Phobos sets, and put the numbers into a formula which he doesn’t bother to tell us (nor do I actually want to know), and there's his approximated position.

2. CHAPTER 23

• The dust storm seems to be the last hurdle Watney must overcome before he reaches the Crater in which MAV is lying. How does he determine the direction of the storm so that he can move past it?

• He makes two " power loggers", using cameras from his spare EVA suit, resistors from electronics kit to provide heat, and solar cells for power. And then he sets out to put them at two different places to record the power efficiency. And on the third day he goes out to collect the power loggers, and analyze the data they have gathered. In this way, he works out that the direction of the storm front. Thus, he decides if he heads south, he most likely can avoid it, provided that the storm is a circular-shaped one.

3. CHAPTER 24

• Well, so much for the "last hurdle" in Ch.23, but by this time I bet we're pretty much used to Mars sparing no effort trying to kill him. So, what accident occurs in this chapter? And how does it happen?

• The rover and the trailer both roll over. Fortunately, all the vital equipment remain functional. The cause of this accident is the terrain. Because the some places of the surface is covered with thick and soft dusts, while others solid ground, when one wheel of the rover is on the dust and the other on the ground, the rover loses balance, then tip over. And because the trailer is connected to the rover, it follows suit.

4. CHAPTER 25

• Everyone is trying to help Watney in the ways they can, from the nerds at NASA, to the crew on Hermes, and to Watney himself. Briefly summarize what Watney and the Hermes crew have been doing to make sure this mission has a successful outcome.

• Basically Watney has been following the instructions given by NASA to tear the MAV apart in order to reduce a significant amount of weight. On Hermes, the crew members are running simulations as to how to save Watney, and doing all sorts of preparation of the intercept.

5. CHAPTER 26

• Even though we knew right from the start that Watney would be saved, we definitely didn't anticipate that it would be such a heart-stopping journey.

• At the beginning at Ch.26, why is there a single paragraph, para.4 to be exact, dedicated to depicting one couple?

• They are apparently Watney's parents.

• Commander Lewis decides to blow up the VAL to create thrust. How does she come up with this extremely dangerous idea? And what is the purpose of it?

• This idea comes from Watney. He proposes that he punctures a hole in his suit to create air flow, thus to push him in the desired direction, pretty much like Iron Man. Of course, the purpose of this is to gain thrust, because the Hermes is travelling too fast for the intercept, and they need to bring down the relative velocity.