The Martian

by

Andy Weir

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Martian makes teaching easy.

The Potatoes

For most of his time on Mars, Watney subsists on his crop of potatoes. It’s fitting that the potatoes he uses to sow the crop were intended for the Ares 3 crew’s Thanksgiving dinner; Thanksgiving…

read analysis of The Potatoes

The RTG

In order to keep the Rover warm during two long journeys (the trips to Pathfinder and to Schiaparelli), Watney recovers the RTG (Radioactive Thermoelectric Generator) that had powered the Ares 3 MAV before the Ares…

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The Dust Storm

The dust storm that Watney must circumnavigate on his way to Schiaparelli represents the danger of the unknown. Watney does not notice when he enters the storm, and the further he drives into the storm…

read analysis of The Dust Storm