The Martian: Should they have left Mark Watney behind?

Do you believe the crew did the right thing in abandoning the search for Mark? Was there an alternative choice?

            While reading “The Maritain” by Andy Weir many emotions were sent through my mind. Through the many problems Mark Watney, the lone astronaut on Mars, goes through it carries the reader through extreme highs and extreme lows. From surviving a massive sand storm where he was impaled, to successfully being the first to grow a plant on Mars, to the humorous dialogue between Mark and Venkat via Pathfinder one truly grows to love and respect Mark Watney. This close fondness of Mark Watney makes you question why his crew members would abandon him on Mars in hopes of saving their own lives. Especially because now as a reader you understand how remarkable of a man Mark is, you simply cannot imagine leaving someone of his caliber behind. I think this is a very debatable subject. I am not an astronaut so I cannot personally relate to the very difficult decision Lewis and her crew had to make. Mark Watney was put in the absolute worst case scenario. This means there was hardly any protocol or direction in how to deal with this once in a blue moon debacle. After reading about half way through the novel, Weir gives us a look into the details of the day Mark was left on Mars. Through this perspective one can see that Lewis and the crew truly did everything humanly possible to save their crewmate and friend. Watney himself repeatedly tells NASA and the crew while communicating with them on their trip home on Hermes, that it was no one’s fault and he places no blame. Unfortunately, this was a tough concept to accept for Lewis for she runs the show and her show did not go as planned. I think the crew did everything they knew how to do to save themselves and look for Watney. I cannot stand to be the judge of this situation, I cannot determine whether their actions were right or just, but I can stand up for their intentions and those were virtuous and pure. There may have been other choices they could have made such as leaving someone behind with a radio communication to NASA to search for Mark. The problem with this perspective is that they had no way of knowing if Mark was alive and if they would have ever been able to save the additional person left behind. The truth is they did the best they could and they are still risking their lives to save Mark and find a way to bring him home. (Weir 1-228).

Works cited 

Weir, Andy. The Martian. Crown: MC , 2014.