The Martian by Andy Weir

[Dafni]

I agree with you @Veeltch. I just finished the book and I feel the same as you.

[Badille]

I was excited when read the book.

As far as I watch, Currently space development is active in low orbit, but Inactivity, in deepspace, by manned.

But this book was overflowling in optimism. It appears potential of mankind ,I wanted  Sci-Fi like this!

[NSEP]

Never read the book and the movie has already been spoiled for me.

Here is a question i have (spoiler alert!)

Spoiler

A storm on Mars is not that powerfull right? The atmospheric pressure is 100x lower, wich means that storms are about 100x weaker? Or is that just silly what i just said.

 

[TheSaint]

36 minutes ago, NSEP said:

Never read the book and the movie has already been spoiled for me.

Here is a question i have (spoiler alert!)

  Hide contents

A storm on Mars is not that powerfull right? The atmospheric pressure is 100x lower, wich means that storms are about 100x weaker? Or is that just silly what i just said.

 

The book is still well worth the read, very entertaining. RE: Martian storms: Yes, the atmospheric pressure is very low, so the opening scenes would be highly unlikely if not impossible. Andy Weir has admitted as much in interviews. 

[NSEP]

Just now, TheSaint said:

The book is still well worth the read, very entertaining. RE: Martian storms: Yes, the atmospheric pressure is very low, so the opening scenes would be highly unlikely if not impossible. Andy Weir has admitted as much in interviews. 

Yeah, not everything has to be realistic to be good. If it was 100% realistic, the story would've been super boring. I think reading the book is better than watching the movie, just because it allows me to imagine a picture on what is going on.

[kerbiloid]

12 hours ago, NSEP said:

 

A storm on Mars is not that powerfull right? The atmospheric pressure is 100x lower, wich means that storms are about 100x weaker?

Depends on author's desire.
If he needs a hurricane throwing away some Watney, it's powerful as in Oz land.
If he needs to inconspicuously put Watney inside a storm, it's 100x weaker.

[KerbMav]

There would have been other ways to destroy the comm systems and hurt Watney without stretching the rules of physics - although I do not know if lightnings are common on Mars e.g.

Yet the author chose to ask the readers  to suspend their disbelieve to get the story going.

Edited September 2, 2016 by KerbMav

[kerbiloid]

On 02.09.2016 at 10:40 PM, KerbMav said:

There would have been other ways to destroy the comm systems and hurt Watney without stretching the rules of physics

They should allow Watney to do his experiments with hydrazine in the very beginning, while all spacemen were still on Mars.

Night. Martian dome. All spacemen are sleeping in their cradles.
All but one.

A lonely window lights in the darkness behind the ground base complex.
This is Watney, he has silently sneaked into the radiolab to try again his chemical experiments making water from hydrazine.
Commander Chastain had already catched him twice during this occupation and promised to abandon him on Mars if this repeats again. But a nature of an investigator, of a pathfinder cannot be overtaken.
He is cautious, no sound betrays him.

Droplet by droplet, the hydrazine disappears inside a muddy retort with a flash of fire and a drink of water. Droplet by droplet Watney depletes their store of the fuel.
His face is satisfied and peaceful.

Bang!!!
A ball of flame tears the radiolab dome into pieces and throws Watney over the hill top, onto the backslope. A granite stone crashes into shatters under his head, and Watney falls into dark.
Happily, he is in spacesuit, he hadn't taken it off, being any moment ready to scamp away from the infuriated Commander Chastain if she would come into the radiolab.

The sleepy crew, suddenly awaken by the thunderous explosion, rushes away from their sleeping room to the ascent vehicle and jumps into the seats.
"Where's our Watney?!"- screams Johanssen.
"Where's our hydrazine?!" - screams Martinez.
"Shut up, all of you." - Commander Chastain's voice is reliant and sober. - "Without Watney we need less hydrazine. Lock the airlock. Fasten seat belts, Helmets on. Hands off consoles. Prepare to ignition..,"

... Mars. Morning. Watney wakes up, heavily sniffing...

Edited September 4, 2016 by kerbiloid

[TheSaint]

 

On 9/4/2016 at 9:55 AM, kerbiloid said:

They should allow Watney to do his experiments with hydrazine in the very beginning, while all spacemen were still on Mars.

Night. Martian dome. All spacemen are sleeping in their cradles.
All but one.

A lonely window lights in the darkness behind the ground base complex.
This is Watney, he has silently sneaked into the radiolab to try again his chemical experiments making water from hydrazine.
Commander Chastain had already catched him twice during this occupation and promised to abandon him on Mars if this repeats again. But a nature of an investigator, of a pathfinder cannot be overtaken.
He is cautious, no sound betrays him.

Droplet by droplet, the hydrazine disappears inside a muddy retort with a flash of fire and a drink of water. Droplet by droplet Watney depletes their store of the fuel.
His face is satisfied and peaceful.

Bang!!!
A ball of flame tears the radiolab dome into pieces and throws Watney over the hill top, onto the backslope. A granite stone crashes into shatters under his head, and Watney falls into dark.
Happily, he is in spacesuit, he hadn't taken it off, being any moment ready to scamp away from the infuriated Commander Chastain if she would come into the radiolab.

The sleepy crew, suddenly awaken by the thunderous explosion, rushes away from their sleeping room to the ascent vehicle and jumps into the seats.
"Where's our Watney?!"- screams Johanssen.
"Where's our hydrazine?!" - screams Martinez.
"Shut up, all of you." - Commander Chastain's voice is reliant and sober. - "Without Watney we need less hydrazine. Lock the airlock. Fasten seat belts, Helmets on. Hands off consoles. Prepare to ignition..,"

... Mars. Morning. Watney wakes up, heavily sniffing...

One problem: In general, astronauts are not idiots. 

[Dman979]

On 9/4/2016 at 0:55 PM, kerbiloid said:

...snip...

Um... huh? What's happening here?

[kerbiloid]

2 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Um... huh? What's happening here?

Just a way to solve the dilemma: whether a Martian storm is a hurricane or a peaceful cloud.

Quote

There would have been other ways to destroy the comm systems and hurt Watney without stretching the rules of physics

 

Edited September 6, 2016 by kerbiloid

[Dman979]

So you solve the dilemma by letting his crew mates leave without him? On Sol 6 of a 30 Sol mission? In the middle of the night? Led by an otherwise by-the-book commander? Because Watney was screwing around with hydrazine, despite the availability of water, for fun?

I'm sorry, man, but that seems way less realistic than a martian storm with artistic license.

[kerbiloid]

13 hours ago, Dman979 said:

but that seems way less realistic

Less realistic than:

•     making the second Mars flight on the same space cruiser without repair and reload,
•     braking a space cruiser with an air exhaust from an airlock broken with a self-made demolition charge;
•     catching a spaceman on a close parabolic orbit by jumping on a lasso (while the spacemen himself accelerates with a hole in a glove)

?.. Well... Ok.

P.S.
Final moments of the movie, cast, "no real martian harmed", so on...

Martian landscape appears on the screen again.
Dunes, rocks, remains of the Hermes' planetary base. Wind is stirring the scraps and debris.
A metal box, almost buried under the sand. Its close view. Silence.

Narrator's voice:
"When the Hermes crew saved Watney and returned him back to the home, all of us were happy.
This was really a miracle: several cooled potatoes gave a life to the completely lifeless planet. At least for several months.
Several small potatoes which were delivered to another planet, just for a holiday celebration! Something, what nobody could await on a Martian ship.
But we did not realize that this was only a beginning..."

Suddenly, a blow from inside makes the box to reel.
(A gentle but alarm melody starts playing).
Another blow, and another.
The box door slightly bends out. With every blow, more and more again.
(Alarm melody surges up and breaks.)
Camera comes closer to the box...
Slowly and tremulously from the box appears a head of a frozen turkey.

Narrator:
"A turkey. A turkey for another celebration was put into a special container and stored on board. Frozen and lifeless.
Until Watney digged up the RTG and put it near its box.
Heat warmed it up, while radiation caused several cells to revive and mutate."

Turkey, deplumed and formerly frozen, gets out from the box, looks around with white senseless eyes and sheds a stunning scream.

Narrator:
"That was only the beginning, a prequel.
A prequel for The Last Days on Mars" 

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by kerbiloid

[Dman979]

2 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

~snip~

 

Were you talking about the movie or the book? Because they end up being two different things.

But that part about the turkey was pretty funny.

[kerbiloid]

1 minute ago, Dman979 said:

Were you talking about the movie or the book? Because they end up being two different things.

Both of them. They are a good substrate for jokes.

[Capt. Hunt]

yeah, the "fly like ironman" thing doesn't happen in the book, Watney suggests it, but they talk him out of it.

[kerbiloid]

38 minutes ago, Capt. Hunt said:

yeah, the "fly like ironman" thing doesn't happen in the book, Watney suggests it, but they talk him out of it.

because

15 hours ago, TheSaint said:

In general, astronauts are not idiots. 

 

[Hydrothermalventclam]

I thought that the book was great.  Despite some very small breaks from perfect realism, Andy Weir did a great job describing everything with amazing scientific detail.  The level of detail goes way beyond any other book, and it is still interesting and engaging.  And, best of all, he perfectly shows what happens when one tiny thing goes wrong, and causes major problems.

The movie was great as well, but left out some important plot points, and glossed over some other stuff, so it made a little less sense.

[KerbMav]

I always thought people should be allowed to make anime versions of source material that for whatever the reason was cut short in movies or tv. Imagine a 1:1 transfer of GoT or Potter?!

[AlphaKerman]

On 1/6/2016 at 7:50 PM, Temstar said:

I quite like the design for Iris:


Looks like a cross between ESA's ATV and Japan's H-II, except with some MONSTER engines for a cargo ship:

H-II


ATV.

I wonder what power system Iris run on though, maybe RTG?

Hmm, I've never noticed that. But to me it would more like Cygnus pressurized module, though it's only 3/4 of the pressurized module size.

And BTW, if it would powered by RTG, the first IRIS launch would be a radioactive disaster (if the casing was broke).

[tater]

He should have had the mission land someplace that looked good, but perhaps it was over a lava tube (unknown to them). Watney might have been on EVA in a rover a decent way from the habs when they notice a sinkhole forming (perhaps due to the 2 landings, and/or RTG placement and waste heat melting ice, etc) and spreading. Like "leave NOW" or the MAV ends up at the bottom of a hole. They call Watney back, and as they watch the rover disappears in a new hole, and telemetry makes it look suitably fatal (not to mention the time required to get cables down to get him out would result in the MAV in a hole). They leave before the thing tumbles in the hole. Watney lives, story progresses. He can still salvage the sunken rover for parts, it just means perhaps some more cool engineering to haul stuff out. 

The rille could be such that it probably won't eat the hab.

Anyway, the story could have been progressed without the silly storm.

 

Regarding RTGs, they are very tough, and there is not much radioactive material in them.

[AlphaKerman]

Well, yeah even though it has not much radioactive materials, most RTG powered spacecraft launch still making some concerns.

And I just read the crew profile 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5TJ8ckMgQFnNnRzMjdFeHAxTXc/view

So, Johansen was working with SpaceX?

[Spaceception]

42 minutes ago, tater said:

He should have had the mission land someplace that looked good, but perhaps it was over a lava tube (unknown to them). Watney might have been on EVA in a rover a decent way from the habs when they notice a sinkhole forming (perhaps due to the 2 landings, and/or RTG placement and waste heat melting ice, etc) and spreading. Like "leave NOW" or the MAV ends up at the bottom of a hole. They call Watney back, and as they watch the rover disappears in a new hole, and telemetry makes it look suitably fatal (not to mention the time required to get cables down to get him out would result in the MAV in a hole). They leave before the thing tumbles in the hole. Watney lives, story progresses. He can still salvage the sunken rover for parts, it just means perhaps some more cool engineering to haul stuff out. 

The rille could be such that it probably won't eat the hab.

Anyway, the story could have been progressed without the silly storm.

 

Regarding RTGs, they are very tough, and there is not much radioactive material in them.

That would've been an awesome beginning!

[tater]

Still need to clobber the comms. That was dumb in the book as well---as if NASA would have no backup comms? In what reality? It's not like Watney needed a HGA, the rover radios would happily talk to MRO or other orbital sats. So the whole trek to get the probe and lame comms should have gone away.

I'd have made him incommunicado by perhaps having the RTG and solar panels fall in the collapsed rille, breaking the wires, then he has to get out of the hole. get to the hab (perhaps wounded somehow), then get the power back on (on batteries til RTG/PVs are up.

[AlphaKerman]

16 minutes ago, tater said:

Still need to clobber the comms. That was dumb in the book as well---as if NASA would have no backup comms? In what reality? 

In Andy Weir reality for sure. Without that, this discussion wouldn't exist