A “computer geek” and career software engineer, Johanssen’s coding skills enable the Hermes crew to override NASA controls and perform the Rich Purnell Maneuver without authorization. She likes the Beatles and Agatha Christie novels. Blonde, petite, and conventionally beautiful, Johanssen’s good looks have made her a poster-girl for the Ares missions, earning her many admirers on Earth. Over the course of the mission, she and Beck fall in love.
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Beth Johanssen Character Timeline in The Martian
The timeline below shows where the character Beth Johanssen appears in The Martian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...with soil. The soil is developing well. He has also been listening to his crewmate Johanssen’s Beatles music, which she left behind in the evacuation. Doing some math, Watney realizes that...
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Chapter 4
...through Sol 34, the Hab is incredibly humid, and he has begun storing water in Johanssen’s space suit.
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Chapter 7
...At the end of the day, he relaxes by reading an Agatha Christie e-book from Johanssen’s laptop.
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Chapter 11
...He starts thinking about communication techniques. The most efficient technique is to use ASCII code (Johanssen’s laptop has an ASCII table). Watney will place paper cards with hexadecimal digits representing digits...
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...with Jack to further discuss hacking the rover. This could happen faster, Jack says, if Johanssen could radio Mark and explain the process; Hermes is much closer to Mars than Earth...
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Chapter 12
...MAV, Watney is hit by the satellite antenna and is carried away by the wind. Johanssen’s computer shows that Watney’s suit decompressed and then went offline—he’s likely dead. While the crew...
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Chapter 16
Watney says very little of substance in his note to Johanssen. He asks her how she can be both beautiful and a brilliant computer nerd, then...
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In his note to Beck, Watney advises him to “tell Johanssen how you feel” once the Ares 3 mission his over. Watney doesn’t know if Johanssen...
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...dump, Vogel receives a corrupted data file that appears to be from his wife. When Johanssen manages to open the file, they find instructions for the Rich Purnell Maneuver. Vogel explains...
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Chapter 19
Weir cuts to Johanssen’s video call with her father. He’s clearly anxious and tells her that her mother is...
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Chapter 23
...than he thought to modify the MAV. Sol 482. Watney spends the “Air Day” reading Johanssen’s ebook of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun. Sol 484. Watney is finally out of...
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Chapter 25
...not actually dead—Lewis and Martinez are running a simulation to prepare for Watney’s rescue. While Johanssen trains Martinez on the simulation, Lewis checks in with Vogel and Beck on their roles...
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The narration shifts to a transcript between Johanssen on Hermes and Watney in the MAV. NASA has approved direct communication between Watney and...
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...Lewis and the Hermes crew review the rescue plan. Martinez will pilot the MAV while Johanssen monitors the computer systems. Beck and Vogel will wait in Airlock 2 with the outer...
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Chapter 26
On Hermes, Martinez is relieved to find the MAV is now steadying. Johanssen tells Lewis the MAV will reach orbit, but the distance at intercept will be 68...
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...door first so that it can later be closed to restore the ship’s aerodynamic shape. Johanssen will use a lighting panel next to the airlock to make a remote trigger for...
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...Teddy gets off the phone with the president. He, Venkat, and Mitch feel totally helpless. Johanssen activates the bomb, breaching the airlock doors, and the thrust of the escaping air slows...
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