Contents
Chapter 23
Overview
Watney identifies a moving dust storm and invents power loggers to map its density. He detours south to outrun it, then resumes an eastward course toward Schiaparelli, refining plans for his living setup at the MAV. As he enters the basin via the Entrance Ramp, hidden soft soil flips the rover, separates the trailer, and scatters solar panels. He survives with the rover pressurized but on its side.
Summary
Mark Watney realizes he is on the edge of a dust storm and frames it as “percent power loss.” To determine its motion and shape, he designs power-logging beacons from spare EVA suit cameras, power meters, resistors for heat, and small batteries powered by detached solar cells. He deploys loggers at his position and 40 km and 80 km south, then returns to collect synchronized noon readings.
Analyzing the data, Watney finds greater losses to the north and confirms the storm is moving west. He decides to head due south to let it pass north of him, accepting slower net progress toward Schiaparelli. Over several sols he keeps just ahead of the storm, endures reduced effective eastward gain, and takes an Air Day while maintaining safe distance. Eventually he reaches 100% solar efficiency, confirming he has cleared the southern edge, and turns east across Terra Meridiani. He recalculates his arrival to around Sol 498.
Tempted to detour to the Mars rover Opportunity for communications, Watney rejects the idea as irrational with the MAV only eleven sols away. He instead plans a post-arrival configuration: sealing the fabric “bedroom” as a permanent housing for the oxygenator and atmospheric regulator, linking it to the trailer via hoses and power, and using the emptied trailer as a bedroom and workshop while the rover becomes storage.
Approaching Schiaparelli, Watney aims for Entrance Crater and the long, gentle Entrance Ramp, estimating a safe two-degree descent. As he starts down, the ramp’s geologic complexity—hard crust overlaying soft powder—creates hidden hazards beneath a dust blanket. The rover’s left front wheel drops into soft soil; momentum and shifting weight flip the rover onto its side, scattering roof-stacked solar panels. The tow clamp and hoses to the trailer snap, and the trailer flips onto its balloon roof.
The rover tumbles and then stops on its side. Automatic valves isolate the broken connections, preserving internal pressure. Watney survives the crash, but he is stranded with a toppled rover, separated trailer, and scattered solar panels at the brink of Schiaparelli.
Who Appears
- Mark WatneyAstronaut on Mars; engineers storm-mapping loggers, skirts the dust storm, plans habitat reconfiguration, approaches Schiaparelli, then survives a rollover that separates the trailer.