The Martian

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. 124 days (Chapter 1)

2. 300 days (Chapter 2)

3. Disco (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. It is the spacecraft the astronauts use to leave Mars. It left without him. (Chapter 1)

2. He’ll suffocate if he runs out of oxygen, die of thirst if he runs out of water, explode if there is a Hab breach, or starve if he runs out of food. (Chapter 1)

3. Thanksgiving would occur during the mission, and NASA psychologists thought it would benefit the crew to cook a meal together. (Chapter 3)

4. He destroys Martinez’s wooden cross—the only religious icon on the Hab—to make shavings to start a fire. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. They show that Watney is alive. (Chapter 6)

2. RTGs power unmanned probes. (Chapter 6)

3. Mindy Park (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. He thinks there might be enough salvageable supplies to justify adding another Mars mission to the program. (Chapter 6)

2. He saves liquid waste for water reclamation and solid waste to fertilize potatoes. (Chapter 9)

3. If Pathfinder can send a signal, NASA might pick it up. (Chapter 10)

Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. He cries. (Chapter 11)

2. Buying him a beer (Chapter 13)

3. Shoveling snow in Chicago when he was a kid (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. They demand a photo of Watney because the whole world is hungrily following the story. (Chapter 11)

2. The University tells Watney that he has officially colonized Mars because he grew crops there. (Chapter 13)