An astronaut is left alone on Mars — and he grows his own food to stay alive. Much of the science is real.
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These are the new words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (astronaut) · 2 = B (storm) · 3 = F (alone) · 4 = H (potato)
5 = A (soil) · 6 = E (rescue) · 7 = C (signal) · 8 = G (brave)
Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015), from the novel by Andy Weir. Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one. (There are spoilers — that is fine, we want to talk about it.)
A team of astronauts is working on Mars. A huge storm hits their camp. A piece of metal flies through the air and hits Mark Watney. His team cannot find him in the storm. They think he is dead, so they fly back to Earth without him.
But Watney is not dead! He wakes up alone on Mars. He is hurt, but he walks back to the team's base. Now he has a big problem: the next spaceship from Earth will not come for four more years. He has to find a way to live on Mars — alone — for a very long time.
1. Why does the team leave Mars without Watney?
2. What big problem does Watney have when he wakes up?
1. A storm hits, he is hit by flying metal, and his team cannot find him. They think he is dead.
2. The next spaceship will not arrive for four years, and he does not have enough food to live that long.
Watney knows about plants — he studied them before he became an astronaut. He has an idea: he can grow potatoes! He mixes Mars soil with waste from his own body to make it good for plants. He plants the potatoes inside his base. He also makes water himself, using science.
One day, something goes wrong and many of his potato plants die. But Watney does not give up. He fixes the problem and starts again. Later, he finds an old robot car from NASA. He uses it to send a message to Earth. Now, NASA knows: Watney is alive!
1. How does Watney grow food on Mars?
2. How does NASA find out that Watney is alive?
1. He mixes Mars soil with his own waste and plants potatoes inside his base. He also makes his own water.
2. He finds an old NASA robot car and uses it to send a signal to Earth.
Watney's old team learns that he is alive. NASA has a plan, but the team wants to be faster. They decide to change their own plan and fly back to Mars themselves, to rescue him. This is dangerous for them too, but they want to help.
Engineers on Earth build a light, fast rocket to bring Watney up from Mars. In the end, Watney has to cut a small hole in his own suit and use the air to push himself through space, to reach his team. They catch him! He is safe, at last.
1. What does Watney's old team decide to do?
2. How does Watney finally reach his team in space?
1. They change their plan and fly back to Mars to rescue him themselves, even though it is dangerous.
2. He cuts a small hole in his spacesuit and uses the escaping air to push himself across space to the ship.
This story is full of things Watney likes, wants and needs to do to survive. English has simple patterns for this.
Read the sentence and complete it with the correct form.
1. Watney enjoys (grow) plants — it is his favourite job.
2. He needs (find) a way to talk to Earth.
3. His team wants (help) him as fast as possible.
1. growing (enjoy + -ing)
2. to find (need + to)
3. to help (want + to)
Put the verb in the correct form. Then read it out loud.
1. He loves (watch) the potato plants get bigger.
2. He needs (make) more water very soon.
3. Watney wants (see) his family again one day.
1. watching (love + -ing)
2. to make (need + to)
3. to see (want + to)
Fill each gap with the correct form. Read it aloud when you finish.
Watney enjoys (solve) problems, even hard ones. But he really needs (get) home. His team wants (rescue) him, and he cannot wait to see them.
solving (enjoy + -ing) · to get (need + to) · to rescue (want + to)
Remember: like / love / enjoy take -ing; want / need take to + verb.
Here is the surprising part: a lot of the science in this film is real. But one big part of the story is not possible.
Andy Weir wrote the book. He is not a scientist, but he loves space, and he studied the science very carefully for years. NASA — the American space agency — liked the story so much that they helped with the film, to make sure the science felt real.
Scientists really have grown potatoes in soil made to be like Mars soil! This is real science, and space agencies study it carefully. But real Mars soil also has a dangerous chemical in it, called perchlorate, which is bad for humans and plants. In real life, you would need to clean the soil first — the film does not show this part.
The big storm that starts the whole story is not realistic. The air on Mars is very, very thin — about one hundred times thinner than on Earth. So even a very strong Mars storm would feel like a soft wind, not strong enough to knock over a spaceship. Andy Weir has said openly that he knew this was not real science — he just needed an exciting way to start his story.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of The Martian in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a storm hits the camp → Watney is left alone on Mars → he grows potatoes and makes water → he sends a signal to Earth → his team flies back to rescue him.
Try to use some key words (astronaut, storm, alone, potato, soil, rescue, signal, brave) and like / want / need + verb.
Watney's team changes their plan to go back and rescue him, even though it is dangerous for them too. Was this the right choice? What would you do for a friend in danger?
Talk about surviving alone, using like / want / need + verb.
Not sure what to say? Choose one: