Exploration

Interview: Andy Weir, author of The Martian

Published on 07 October 2015

Now a bestseller, his book has been adapted for cinema in a Ridley Scott film starring Matt Damon. Andy Weir believes that in the long-term, we need to settle on Mars so that mankind lives on at least 2 planets to ensure its future.

What began as a story published chapter by chapter on the internet has become a Sci-Fi novel now found on the New York Times bestseller list. The cinema adaptation called on the talented director Ridley Scott and a strong cast lead by Matt Damon in the role of Mark Watney, the unfortunate astronaut (mistakenly) left for dead on the Red Planet. Both the book and the film describe his fight for survival while ways to return him to Earth are being investigated.

With the assistance of the Espace & Exploration magazine, we were able to interview Andy Weir who explains his passion for space, his satisfaction with the film version of his story and why he thinks that mankind needs to settle on Mars in order to guarantee its survival.

Already acclaimed by the critics and space personalities such as the Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, when The Martian was adapted for cinema, NASA willingly gave its advice so that the film was as plausible as possible. The U.S. Agency has also used it to promote its Martian programme (read this article to find out more).