Martian Mission Intro Slides
NASA / ARES III MISSION BRIEFING // NOVEL STUDY
TELEMETRY: ACTIVE
GRADE 8 LITERATURE & SCIENCE INTEGRATION
STRANDED ON MARS
Introduction to The Martian (Classroom Edition) by Andy Weir
LOCATION: Acidalia Planitia
CREW STATUS: 1 Astronaut Unaccounted
ESTIMATED RESCUE: 4+ YEARS
Sol 000 // Pre-Mission Warm-Up
Survival Priority Protocol
⏳ 3 Minutes Team Challenge
MISSION EMERGENCY: A freak dust storm strikes your research outpost. You have 60 seconds to grab THREE items to survive in the pressurized habitat alone for 500 days.
Raw Potatoes
12 Packed Spuds
Duct Tape
5 Industrial Rolls
Radio Parts
Broken Antenna
Hydrazine Fuel
50L Rocket Fuel
Disco Music
1970s Playlist
👉 Rank your top 3 with your table partner. Be prepared to defend your scientific reasoning! #ScienceToSurvive
Planetary Fact Sheet
Mars: The Red Planet Reality
ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT: SEVERE
Thin Air
Mars atmosphere is 95% Carbon Dioxide and less than 1% of Earth's pressure.
⚠️ Result: Instant asphyxiation & ebullism without EVA suit.
Brutal Cold
Average surface temp is -80°F (-60°C), dropping to -195°F at the poles at night.
⚠️ Result: Machinery freezes; heating systems are vital.
Toxic Soil
Martian dirt contains toxic perchlorates, zero organic matter, and no liquid water.
⚠️ Result: You cannot simply plant seeds in Martian dirt.
AUTHOR'S RULE: Andy Weir designed every challenge around real, accurate Martian physics & chemistry.
Genre & Real-World Science
What is "Hard Science Fiction"?
🚀 NASA Technology Base
Hard Sci-Fi vs. Soft Sci-Fi
- ✗ No magic warp drives, alien monsters, or laser swords.
- ✓ Grounded strictly in known physics, botany, chemistry, and orbital mechanics.
- ✓ Problems are solved with real scientific calculations and engineering ingenuity.
NASA Ares Program Tech
The Hab: The 31-day inflatable living dome.
Hermes: Ion-engine mothership orbiting Earth & Mars.
MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle): The rocket home.
"I didn't want to break any laws of physics. I wanted the science to be the story."
— Andy Weir, Novelist & Software Engineer
Mission Incident Report
The Ares 3 Premise & Sol 6
MISSION: ARES 3 (Day 6 of 31)
Mark Watney
Botanist & Mechanical Engineer
The lowest-ranking crewmember. Sarcastic, resilient, quick-thinking, and fiercely determined never to give up.
Key Skill: Plant Biology
The Sol 6 Storm
Catastrophic Evacuation
A ferocious 175 km/h dust storm forces emergency abort. An antenna pierces Watney's suit monitor. The crew believes he is dead and departs.
Status: Left Behind
The Math Gap
400 Days of Food vs. 1400 Days
The next scheduled Mars mission (Ares 4) arrives in roughly 4 years, landing 3,200 km away at Schiaparelli Crater.
Goal: Grow 3 Years of Food
VOCABULARY NOTE: A "Sol" is one Martian solar day = 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds.
Collaborative Dialogue // Sol 001
Turn & Talk: Mindset & Survival
2-Minute Partner Protocol
CRITICAL THINKING PROMPT
"At some point, everything's gonna go south on you... you can either accept that, or you can get to work. You solve one problem, then you solve the next one."
PARTNER A (1 Min): Why is humor and problem-solving mindset more valuable than raw strength in an extreme crisis?
PARTNER B (1 Min): Think of a time when a plan failed for you. Did panic or step-by-step logic help you fix it?
EXPECTATION: Both partners speak. Reference specific science or personal examples! Timer starts now.
Martian Launch Teacher Guide
Teacher Facilitation Guide
The Martian: Novel Launch & Mission Briefing
Instructional Pacing, Talking Points, & Activity Facilitation (Slides 1–6)
Grade: 8th ELA / Sci
Duration: 45–50 Mins
Key Learning Target Analyze how setting and scientific realism drive character choices and central conflict.
Materials Needed Intro Slide Deck, Class Novel Copies, Student Reading Notebooks.
Suggested Pacing Hook (5m), Warm-Up (10m), Sci Context (15m), Talk (10m), Launch (10m).
Slide-by-Slide Facilitation & Teacher Scripts
SLIDE 1: Title & Hook (0–5 Mins) Goal: Build Immersion
Teacher Script: "Today, we are leaving Earth behind. You are stepping into the boots of astronaut Mark Watney—a botanist and engineer stranded alone on a planet that offers no air, no liquid water, and zero room for error."
💡 Tip: Play a low ambient spacecraft/wind sound effect as students enter the room to enhance the NASA telemetry theme.
SLIDE 2: Survival Priority Warm-Up (5–15 Mins) Goal: Problem-Solving & Prediction
Have students work in pairs for 3 minutes to pick 3 items. Circulate and listen for scientific justification. Reveal the novel connection below:
• Raw Potatoes: Essential calories & seed crops for farming.
• Duct Tape: Vital for patch kits & pressure seals.
• Radio Antenna: Crucial to attempt rescue comms.
• Hydrazine: Deadly rocket fuel, but contains hydrogen for water!
SLIDE 3: Mars Environmental Hazards (15–23 Mins) Goal: Establish Setting as Antagonist
Emphasize that Mars is not an evil villain with conscious intent; it is an indifferent environment. Guide students to connect this to the literary conflict type Character vs. Nature.
⚠️ Common Misconception: Students often assume soil on Mars is like Earth dirt. Clarify that Martian regolith lacks nitrogen and organic microbes, requiring Watney to invent bio-engineering solutions.
The Martian Novel Study — Teacher Facilitation Guide Page 1 of 2
Part 2: Instruction, Dialogue & Differentiation Slides 4–6 & Debrief
SLIDE 4: Hard Sci-Fi & NASA Realism (23–30 Mins) Goal: Genre Convention Analysis
Key Discussion Question: "How does Andy Weir's background as a computer programmer and space geek shape the narrative structure?"
