The First Landing on Mars

Lore & Background

The Ares 3 mission was part of NASA's Ares program, a series of crewed Mars expeditions that followed decades of robotic exploration. The landing site, Acidalia Planitia, was chosen for its relatively flat terrain and scientific interest, including ancient sedimentary deposits. The crew's primary objectives included geological sampling, atmospheric studies, and testing life-support systems for future missions. The mission's abrupt end due to a violent dust storm—with winds strong enough to damage equipment and threaten the ascent vehicle—led to the iconic moment when Commander Melissa Lewis ordered an abort, inadvertently leaving Watney behind in the chaos.

In Their Own Story

The Hab's airlock cycled shut with a hiss, sealing out the rusty twilight. Commander Lewis watched the pressure gauge drop, her jaw tight. Outside, the storm howled, sand scouring the viewport like a million tiny chisels. 'We're out of time,' she said, her voice flat over the comms. 'Everyone to the MAV.' Martinez was already running the pre-launch sequence, fingers flying over the console. Beck helped Johanssen secure the last of the geological samples—fist-sized rocks that might hold secrets of ancient water. Vogel double-checked the seals on his suit, every motion precise. But in the chaos, a single figure—Watney—was still outside, antenna array in hand, fighting the wind to plant a sensor. He never heard the evacuation order over the roar. The MAV's engines ignited, a thunder that shook the ground, and the Hab's silhouette shrank against the red horizon. The last thing anyone saw was a lone suit, a silent beacon, and the first human footprint on Mars—a print that would never be followed by a second.

Reader's Guide

The First Landing on Mars—the Ares 3 mission—is the spark that ignites The Martian. It drops you into a world of breathtaking achievement and brutal reality: the triumph of a successful landing, the terror of a storm that rips through the Hab's solar panels, and the gut-wrenching choice to leave a man behind. This event sets the stage for Watney's survival saga, establishing the Martian environment as a character in its own right—unforgiving, beautiful, and lethal. The landing site, Acidalia Planitia, becomes both a tomb and a beacon, a place where NASA's finest engineering meets raw human will. The mission's legacy is written in two ways: in the data it gathered—geology, atmosphere, life-support tests—and in the logs Watney leaves behind, a diary of desperation and ingenuity. It's a story of protocols broken and remade, of crew bonds strained across millions of miles, and of a global effort that turns a disaster into a race against time.

Did You Know?

• The Ares 3 landing site, Acidalia Planitia, is a real region on Mars, named after a fountain in Greek mythology.
• The dust storm that forced the abort was based on real Martian weather patterns, though actual storms are less violent than depicted.
• The mission's MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) was designed to return the crew to orbit, but Watney later repurposes its components for survival.
• Commander Lewis's decision to abort is a pivotal moment, as it saves the rest of the crew but leaves Watney stranded.