What device was used to communicate with NASA in The Martian?
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What device was used to communicate with NASA in The Martian?
The Mars Pathfinder probe that Mark Watney used to communicate with NASA.
What is the first message NASA sends to Watney?
It is Martinez who sends the first message to Watney once they realize he is still alive. “Sorry we left you behind on Mars,” Martinez texts Watney, “But we just don’t like you.” The Martian is grounded in present or near-future technologies. Text messages drive the plot.
What does Sol mean in The Martian?
Mars solar day
A Mars solar day has a mean period of 24 hours 39 minutes 35.244 seconds, and is customarily referred to as a “sol” in order to distinguish this from the roughly 3% shorter solar day on Earth.
How long did they go without telling the crew he’s still alive?
The flight director of Ares III, Mitch Henderson (Sean Bean), contacts the crew and informs them that Watney is alive, and that they’ve kept it from them for the last two months so as to not distract them from their mission.
How many hours is a sol?
A sol is slightly longer than an Earth day. It is approximately 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds long. A Martian year is approximately 668 sols, equivalent to approximately 687 Earth days or 1.88 Earth years.
How scientifically accurate is The Martian?
“The Martian” is a technically accurate sci-fi, so tons of research and constant double-checking of math had to be done. Anything else would have been ruinous to the reader’s suspension of disbelief. Along the way, the math revealed plot points that would have otherwise never happened.
How did Mark Watney stay warm?
One of Watney’s biggest survival challenges is how he’ll stay warm during the sub-zero Martian nights. His solution is to use a radioisotope thermal generator, or RTG, as a portable heat source.
What is the RTG in the Martian?
The Mars Ascent Vehicle in “The Martian” is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which converts the heat of the radioactive decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. This RTG is buried a safe distance away from the pioneers’ living quarters.
