Learning about life on Mars
The movies have taught me science, humour, persistence and duct tape are your friends
Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers for the film The Martian.
I still have to pinch myself when I say the words out loud.
I am one of the Mars 100. “Journalist, educator, future astronaut.” That’s what it says on my resumé now. “Surreal” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
As luck would have it, I recently saw Andy Weir (author of the novel The Martian) speak at a space convention in Washington, D.C. Boy, was he funny. I knew then that the film version of the book was going to be funny, too.
More importantly, I knew that it would offer some powerful lessons, things I needed to learn for the sake of my own survival on the red planet. What has fictional astronaut Mark Watney taught me?
Check it out.
1. Be resourceful
Scene: Left for dead by his crewmates, Watney is stranded on Mars. He must depend on his own ingenuity to survive.
Lesson: Channel your inner MacGyver. MacGyver was that TV secret agent who could make a combustion engine out of a coat hanger. Remember? Give him a Swiss Army knife and he could do just about anything. Watney’s material of choice is duct tape. He fixes just about everything with it. He also performs an operation on himself and staples the wound shut. The Martian taught me that survival is about being resourceful. When trouble arrives in space — and you can bet it will — focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t. Get to work. Build it. Fix it. Duct tape it if you have to.
2. Science the crap out of everything
Scene: Watney draws on everything he’s ever learned to heat the rover, make his own water and grow three years worth of food on a planet where nothing grows.
Lesson: Science rocks! I’ll admit, I wasn’t a science geek in high school. I was more into English and French, with a little math thrown in for good measure. The Martian gave me a glimpse of what my future holds. After the final 24 astronauts are chosen by Mars One next year, we will head into eight years of training. Medicine, dentistry, hydroponic garden- ing, engineering, you name it. We’ll literally be learning how to “science the crap out of this.” But will we grow potatoes like Watney does, using our own waste as fertilizer? I can’t wait to find out.
3. Laugh
Scene: Watney shows us his irreverent sense of humour throughout the film. The consummate survivor, he has a joke for every occasion.
Lesson: Lighten up. Don’t get me wrong. Going to Mars is serious business. But that doesn’t mean the members of the crew shouldn’t crack a smile now and then. In fact, anyone who has ever been part of an astronaut selection committee will tell you it’s essential. The smartest people aren’t always the first ones chosen for a mission. Frequently, it’s those who are smart and who know how to make people laugh who get the job. The Martian taught me how important it is to keep things light and breezy on board the ship. Heading to Mars? Pack a sense of humour in your space suitcase, honey.
4. Stay calm
Scene: Watney has just seen all his crops destroyed thanks to an explosion. Lesson: Ommmmmmm. Let’s face it, life on Mars has its ups and downs. That’s why you need to hang on to your sanity. Watney understands on the deepest of levels that he has the power to save himself. He just needs to keep it together. And he does that by recording videos to document his daily routine.
Funny and entertaining, he talks to the camera like a friend. Think Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball from Castaway. Music helps him stay grounded, too. Sure, it’s disco (the only tracks left behind by the crew), but even Donna Summer can help a guy take his mind off things in space.
5. Be a rebel
Scene: NASA refuses to green-light a mission to rescue Watney. The crew decides to go after him anyway.
Lesson: Just do it. History is filled with stories of people who refused to play by the rules. They thought outside the box. They didn’t take no for an answer. They wanted nothing more than to boldly go where no man or woman had gone before. Think about it. If we didn’t have people like this, we wouldn’t have progress. And we definitely wouldn’t have the Mars One mission. When the Martian crew voted to go rogue and “get their boy,” I learned an important lesson. Nike may have coined the phrase, but we’ll be using it plenty in outer space. Just do it.
6. Be determined
Scene: From the beginning of the film right up to the dramatic rescue, Watney never stops fighting to make it home.
Lesson: Grit is good. I don’t have to tell you this. Mars is not an easy gig. It would be a lot less stressful to just sit at home on the couch and watch Netflix. But if you’re going to put yourself out there, accept the fact there will be challenges. Big ones. They may feel insurmountable. Heck, you may even want to give up from time to time. That’s when you need to start asking the tough questions. Do you want to survive? Good. Now buckle down. Put on your game face. Do what needs to be done. Never. Stop. Fighting. Oh and while you’re at it, Watney, pass me the duct tape, would you?