The Martian

Luckily, Watney is not hurt—and while all his equipment is scattered, it’s mostly intact. He communicates a message to earth, indicating what happened and that he is okay. He then gets to work righting the rover and the trailer. The regulator and oxygenator are working, but he has lost three solar cells. All in all, when he is done reassembling everything, the accident has cost him four sols, and he is still 220 kilometers away from the Ares 4 MAV. In addition, he has decided to slow down just to avoid another accident, and this will cost him more time, but Watney feels it is crucial for his safety. After this incident, the remainder of the trip goes easily. As he nears the Ares 4 MAV, he begins to receive a signal from the Ares 4 beacon.

At the end of the chapter, the narrative switches from his mission log point of view to a third-person overview. It shows the “astronaut” arriving at the site, celebrating, then entering the airlock on the landing stage of the MAV.

When Watney arrives, the first thing he does is perform full diagnostics. He is then able to recontact NASA and JPL to learn the plan for the Ares 4 MAV modification. On Earth, Bruce Ng fills Venkat in on the modifications necessary to launch the MAV into orbit, which are extreme. The best plan they’ve been able to produce involves removing the life support and controls from the MAV, which means that Martinez will pilot the MAV remotely from the Hermes. In addition, Watney must remove all auxiliary power and backup communication systems, and he will even be removing parts of the craft itself, such as the nose airlock, windows, and hull panel. He will cover it with the Hab canvas as a tarp.

When NASA communicates the plan to Watney, he is in complete disbelief, but he makes all of the modifications. In addition, NASA has a plan for him to make his own rocket fuel: He will electrolyze water to get hydrogen, then the fuel plant can make fuel from that. He will also be electrolyzing his urine. Watney fully executes the plan and soon is ready. NASA and the Hermes are ready as well. It is sol 549, and he is in the Ares 4 MAV, awaiting launch into orbit to intercept the Hermes.

The entire world is tuned in on Watney’s launch from Mars. The Hermes crew is waiting. Beck will be doing an EVA to secure the MAV and retrieve Watney into the Hermes. Despite orders from Lewis to the contrary, he tells Vogel that if it is necessary to reach Watney, Vogel should release Beck’s tether. This means Beck would be unattached to the ship but still responsible for getting himself and Watney back there.

The Ares 4 MAV launches with Watney inside, with more force than any manned ship in the history of space travel. He sees the canvas on the nose of the MAV begin to flap, but because of the force of the launch, he can’t concentrate. He eventually passes out, and the Hermes cannot contact him. On the Hermes, they realize that his launch velocity was too slow and sluggish. This means that although the intercept velocity will work, they will be 68 kilometers away from the MAV, which is too far to intercept it. They figure out how to close that distance and get close to him, but once they’ve solved that problem, they realize they will be going too fast to catch him. NASA can see the problem that the Hermes is having, but they can’t do anything to help.

Watney finally wakes up, and the crew of the Hermes tells him the problem. They decide to deliberately breach the ship to produce thrust by making a bomb. This could result in the destruction of the crew. On Earth, everyone watches helplessly, but the plan works even better than expected. Beck does a successful EVA and catches the MAV. He pulls Watney out, and together they make their way to the airlock. The final entry in Watney’s log is dated Mission Day 687, reflecting his renewed status as crew member of the Hermes, reminding the reader how long they have been in space and how much longer they have until they return to Earth. Watney is safe aboard the Hermes.