Andy Weir - The Martian: How Science Drove the Plot

NASA Ames 2015 Summer Series. Science fiction stories inspire us to imagine the impossible while leaving us with blueprints for the future. Science inspires science fiction, and NASA makes science fiction a reality.

NASA’s Journey to Mars sets a goal beyond anything humanity has ever reached. With this monumental vision, we outline the parameters needed for survival. We put ourselves into the spacesuit of a Martian explorer and design what they need. In his novel, The Martian, Andy Weir communicates a quest for survival-- a thought experiment in innovation and ingenuity. Andy Weir will describe how science drove the plot of The Martian, illuminating the connectivity between science fiction and science fact.

[stefanels]

CONTENTS
0:00 Intro title sequence
0:17 Welcome
0:42 Jim Green(Director of Planetary Science for NASA) introduces Andy Weir
2:45 Weir reads The Martian, Chapter 1.
15:40 Weir's talk begins: which came first—problems or solutions?
19:37 Orbital mechanics
25:20 Hermes orbital path animation sequence (SPOILER ALERT)
26:13 The real-world mission date
29:25 Inaccuracies
29:43 The Sand Storm
31:01 Radiation hand-waving
32:12 Curiosity almost screwed me in hindsight
33:44 And another thing Curiosity screwed me on: water
34:12 Question time
34:22 Pre-answer: what did I have to do with the movie?
35:02 This frickin' guy worked out the mission date!
35:46 Why wasn't Hermes' design featured more in the book?
36:45 Where's the romance?
38:04 What about a shout-out to Silicon Valley's NASA centre?
38:59 Is Mark Watney you or just made up?
39:48 Will Hollywood screw it up?
40:46 What did NASA flight controllers think of your ideas?
42:02 How did you name your spacecraft?
43:06 Where did you get the "astronaut" psychological profile for the characters?
43:55 Who are your inspiring sci-fi authors?
45:12 Like with NASA, did you also do research with the Chinese space program?

[forcelegend]

I didn't know that Andy put so much effort into this awesome book.
He really nailed it, It's the best stand alone book I've read so far.

[CAnasagal]

lively thinker, presenter and writer. And the movie interesting for all sorts of minds.

[howdareyou]

Having MW talk to the HAB cams was a brilliant bit of movie making

[MegF]

Problems - solutions - repeat. Love how he used thought of possible problems and research for solutions to drive the plot forward. Excellent that he was wrong mostly about that his story wouldn't have mass appeal. :-) My recommendation is to read the book and then go watch the movie.

[NoorElahi]

I like Andy Weir because he's a total NASA nerd. He seems like a really decent fellow. That being said, I'm a total NASA nerd because they are an army of hard-asses. Those people are true role models. They are Tough and Competent.

[theDudeOfDudes]

I consider myself to be fairly nerdy, but god... what a rough crowd. This guy was awesome and the crowd nearly killed it numerous times. Sometimes I enjoy fellow nerds, but the overly literal pedantic lack of personality in many can really kill a good time. Half a room full of "you must be fun at parties" at the Ames Research Center.

[carsonhaught]

An engaging chap.... was wondering about that ion drive... OK to get there but decal for Mars orbit...? He put a lot of work into that. Hard SF of the best kind.

[lethaleefox]

So few comments in 8 years, but useful ones... I am thinking of collecting this and the YouTube audio book, reaction video and other lectures on history of the book to a playlist...

[ssgcmwatsonusa]

kinda weird watching this during the covid 19 pandemic and seeing all these people indoors, shoulder to shoulder, and unmasked.

[zapfanzapfan]

The book (and film) is awesome but there are some slight mistakes:

The high oxygen he mentions in the beginning in his suit would not cause problems, most spacewalks are done in space suits with 100% oxygen at 0.3 Bar. It's not the percentage that is the problem, it's the partial pressure, and if you go above 1, 5 Bar or so (diving to deep using compressed air) you get into trouble.

The RTG that powered the MAV must be a lot bigger than portrayed in the book or the movie. Most plans that include fuel production on Mars plan to use a small nuclear reactor.

10% efficient solar panels are crap, the stuff we put on roofs is about 15% and the space grade stuff is close to 30%.

The battery in the rover is smaller than that in any electric car.


Ok, I'll go back to my mothers basement now and read D&D :-)

[Yookiwooki]

I will be 45 in 2035. That's exactly Matt Damon's age this year... Hmmmm

[daverei]

A brilliant book - a great movie - Hale Mary Project even better.

[trevorthompson]

Would they not get pretty hot there on Hermes when so close to the sun. I didnt measure it but in that simulation they get pretty close.

[Nyerguds]

I wonder if his program is actually still accurate with the forced deceleration they did when reaching Mars the second time, in the book. It doesn't seem like he had any system to incorporate that.

[michaelpeters]

Whenever they show the audience, I can't help but look at the young guy wearing red in the front. His lack of expression literally pisses me off.

[theultimatereductionist]

It's precisely because NASA does the physically & mathematically incredibly hard stuff
(and I have certain specific strong criticisms of NASA) that it disgusts me that mere entertainers
like Andy Weir draw such a large crowd over his fiction.

[Andysalive]

I would guess the vast majority of the audience is familiar with swearing.
Grow up, hosts.

[valerybrideson]

!   Flying to the moon to have imitated Hollywood. Now, will portray flights to Mars. Without engines again, what then?