Andy Gebhardt

Mr. Pace
DC English
Reading Project essay
19 November 2019

Saving The Astronaut, A Space Story

Imagine the loneliest feeling and place there is. No one is there to talk. No person even

acknowledges another. Now put that place 33,926,867 miles away from Earth. A lone character

in the novel ​The Martian ​by Andy Weir, Mark Watney is literally the only person in the world.

After being stranded on the planet from a research project, his struggles to survive until rescue

constitute the bulk of the story. However, there are people on Earth that realize he is alive and

make it their highest priority to save him. Through the use of the NASA program,the media, and

international government agencies, the commitment of humans to an individual is apparent.

NASA is a huge agency with thousands of people working for it. When it is found that

Mark Watney, a crewman of the Ares 3 space program, is alive, every person puts in their best

effort to help save him. NASA is willing to spend thousands of dollars to put a rescue mission

together. The administrator puts together plans for it and shows his commitment by saying,

“‘Hang in there Watney,’ he said.‘We’re coming’”(131). By showing their resources and belief

in a rescue, NASA defines the basic desire to help a person in need. An innate emotion that is

part of almost every human being, and comes from sympathy and kindness. Not only is it people,

but science and what Mark Watney’s survival could mean for the future. He is the embodiment

of a struggle to survive, but if he can survive on Mars then other people could too. So much is on

the line.
 The media loves it when they hear stories about everything being on the line and a lone

person on Mars makes an excellent one. As a government agency, NASA’s footage and

information is privy to the public as well. The media takes advantage of this and becomes the

window for the public to learn the details of Watney’s situation. Media is not always seen

positively, but keeping the public interested greatly helps funding and government support for

the project too. A rescue mission is extremely expensive so, “We’ve received a massive amount

of support from all sectors. We’re using this shamelessly every way we can”(61). People want to

donate money to help harsh causes. Millions of dollars are collected for natural disasters, animal

rescues, and tough medical cases. Watney being in one of those situations finds the whole world

out to help him as well. When it comes to the well-being of a human, especially a famous one, it

does not matter what country they are from. The public is driven to help is sympathetic toward

the cause as long as there is hope of him surviving. If there is no chance, he simply becomes a

martyr and makes future space travel less likely for any nation.

Some countries can work together in the face of certain ideas such as space travel. There

is general enthusiasm toward the practice. However, the politics that go along with working

together are often much different. After the first supply rocket blows up in the atmosphere there

is not known to be another solution. Then, the China National Space Administration comes

forward with one of their rockets and presents another opportunity: “If this becomes a

negotiation by diplomats it will never get resolved. We need to keep this among scientists”(195).

Even the space agencies run by the government understand that in order to save Watney’s life

they must work fast without involving their governments. It shows that while nationality is

important, working together when the need arises is most important. It is a lesson that should be
used more today to solve the world's problems just like saving a lone astronaut meant future

collaboration in space research. Also, by agreeing to “waste” their rocket on a different cause,

the Chinese prove that every person should be worth saving and rescuing them is never an

impossibility.

The idea of so many individuals, agencies, and types of technology coming together for

one purpose is astounding. Mark Watney is human and deserves this stretch in resources to save

him. However, he also represents so much more than just a space rescue. He embodies science,

mortality, and technology all being part of the rescue goal. NASA, the media, and other nation

all reach out for him because of a basic instinct to help a person in need. It is a commitment

every human has when they see trouble. If more instances of helping others occurred in the

world today it would be a better place. Instead people are afraid, driven towards other goals, and

unwilling to make a right decision to aid another person. What would the world look like if every

individual, government, and nation were focused on the same principle of providing for and

helping others?