--- title: The Martian: See the Real Locations Visited in the Book description: Fact and fiction blurs further in these photos that capture actual locations as described in Andy Weir's book, The Martian. canonical: https://time.com/4062218/mars-the-martian-real-locations/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-06T13:55:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:21.766Z article:section: Science og:title: See the Real Mars Locations Visited in 'The Martian' og:description: Check out these images of the planet og:url: https://time.com/4062218/mars-the-martian-real-locations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd637e163605a524d/698866f90a4a221cd89c668a/nasa-mars-real-the-martian-locations-41.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: NASA Mars The Martian Locations og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Real Mars Locations Visited in 'The Martian' twitter:description: Check out these images of the planet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd637e163605a524d/698866f90a4a221cd89c668a/nasa-mars-real-the-martian-locations-41.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Real Mars Locations Visited in _The Martian_ > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 6, 2015 1:55 PM UTC  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. 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 by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 6, 2015 1:55 PM UTC  Ares 3 Landing Site, acquired on Feb. 19, 2012\. In The Martian 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 Arizona  Ares 3 Landing Site, 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 Arizona  Ares 4 Landing Site, 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. The Ares 4 site is on the floor of a very shallow crater in the southwestern corner of Schiaparelli Crater. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  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  Western Edge of Marth Crater, acquired on Aug. 1, 2015\. In The Martian, Mark Watney encounters the rim of Marth Crater just as a dust storm arrives. This HiRISE image shows the nature of this terrain. 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