See the Real Mars Locations Visited in <i>The Martian</i>
See the Real Mars Locations Visited in The Martian
Close-up of the Ares 3 Landing Site, acquired on April 8, 2015. This image is a capture of the exact coordinates of the landing site in Andy Weir's novel, The Martian. The closeup shows some wind-blown deposits inside eroded craters.NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
u003cbu003eAres 3 Landing Siteu003c/bu003e, acquired on Feb. 19, 2012. In u003ciu003eThe Martianu003c/iu003e by Andy Weir, stranded astronaut Mark Watney spends most of his time at the Ares 3 landing site in southern Acidalia Planitia. The book describes Acidalia as flat and easy to drive over; he even drives to the Pathfinder landing site and back. NASA/JPL/University of Arizonatu003cbu003eAres 3 Landing Siteu003c/bu003e, acquired on May 17, 2015. Captured a few years later, this image takes a closer look at the Ares 3 landing site. The HiRISE camera often captures images periodically to observe any significant changes within surveyed areas.NASA/JPL/University of Arizonatu003cbu003eAres 4 Landing Siteu003c/bu003e, acquired on July, 14 2015. In the novel, stranded astronaut Mark Watney travels from the Ares 3 site to the Ares 4 site where a Mars Ascent Vehicle could get him into Mars orbit to rejoin a spacecraft and return home.nnThe Ares 4 site is on the floor of a very shallow crater in the southwestern corner of Schiaparelli Crater.NASA/JPL/University of Arizonatu003cbu003eClose-up of the Ares 3 Landing Siteu003c/bu003e, acquired on April 8, 2015. This image is a capture of the exact coordinates of the landing site in Andy Weir's novel, u003ciu003eThe Martianu003c/iu003e. The closeup shows some wind-blown deposits inside eroded craters.NASA/JPL/University of Arizonatu003cbu003eWestern Edge of Marth Crateru003c/bu003e, acquired on Aug. 1, 2015. In u003ciu003eThe Martianu003c/iu003e, Mark Watney encounters the rim of Marth Crater just as a dust storm arrives. This HiRISE image shows the nature of this terrain.NASA/JPL/University of Arizonat