The Martian

The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, a brilliant and witty NASA astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars after a catastrophic accident during a manned mission to the planet. Watney is part of a six-person crew assembled by the Ares III mission to explore Mars, gather information about the planet's habitability, and potentially establish a human settlement on the red planet. As the crew lands their spacecraft, the Hab, on the Martian surface, a sudden and intense storm, nicknamed the "Great Dark Spot," sweeps in, forcing them to abandon their research mission and make a hasty retreat to their landing site. Unfortunately, Watney, while searching for a way to shield their habitat from the storm, gets swept away by a powerful gust of wind and is left severely injured and presumed dead by his crew. With their Mars Exploration Rover (MER) damaged in the storm and no means of communication left intact, the crew flees the planet in the Hermes spacecraft, leaving Watney, the most skilled astronaut among them, behind. Desperate to survive, Watney awakens from his makeshift burial to find himself literally buried under a debris pile. Assuming the worst, Watney rations his thoughts, realizing that the crew left him for dead. Watney is faced with an insurmountable challenge: surviving on Mars with limited resources, dwindling water supplies, and bleak future prospects. As he searches the debris for supplies, he finds himself with 130 days of food, no means of communication, and nothing to signal his presence to the rest of the world. Initially optimistic and driven to discover any means of aid, Watney's early resilience eventually turns to despair, as he tackles the seemingly insurmountable hurdle of his predicament. Days pass, and Watney adopts an increasingly stoic demeanor, driven by a quest to survive and eventually find a way to signal his presence to the rest of the world. As he looks for innovative solutions to consume his limited water supply, Watney has a recurring nightmare that features deceased astronaut Alexei Leonov. He then generates an idea of hydroponic gardening and harnesses the natural Martian sunlight to grow vegetables and, eventually, turn the Martian planet into his temporary home. The Martian's creative and ingenious situations serve as a vehicle for author Andy Weir's ideas of science fiction. With the power to survive solely through chemical responses in his body and using recycled technology, Watney shows vast resilience. Watney takes extraordinary risks as he fixes the damaged Hab and engages in audacious endeavors to communicate with Earth. We follow Watney on his highly personalized journey, which is interwoven with NASA's scientists on Earth as they join Rob Munro, a scientist working diligently to assist Watney. The character then comes across and manages to maneuver the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and radio equipment into an operational state, creating the possibility for sending a sign to Mars. Each character's efforts develop against the background of the unforgiving Martian terrain. In crucial scenes, Watney employs his skill in computing, mechanical engineering, and even botany. Using his sharp intellect, Watney makes contact with NASA with the primary intention of securing a rescue mission and creating methods to communicate safely for each Mars-based activity.