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How does Mark Watney communicate with Earth?
So in order to gain contact with NASA, Watney digs up the Mars Pathfinder, the probe which NASA lost contact with in 1997. He fixes it (woo!) and the probe is able to communicate with Earth. Through a camera on the Pathfinder, Watney is able to speak to NASA through messages he writes and shows to it.
What does Watney bring back to the Hab to communicate with NASA?
Watney gets large amounts of support from earth when NASA tell media he is still alive. He can send NASA messages using rocks or sending Morse code, however, NASA cant talk to him. Watney retrieves an old probe, Pathfinder, which he brings back to the hab to use as communication.
What is the communication delay between Earth and Mars?
It generally takes about 5 to 20 minutes for a radio signal to travel the distance between Mars and Earth, depending on planet positions.
What does Pathfinder mean in the Martian?
Mars Pathfinder (MESUR Pathfinder) is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. This mission was the first of a series of missions to Mars that included rovers, and was the first successful lander since the two Vikings landed on the red planet in 1976.
What does Sol mean in Martian movie?
Keeping time on Mars One solar day on Mars, called a “sol,” is about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, according to the Planetary Society. Watney measures the time he spends stranded on Mars not in days but in “sols,” which is how NASA keeps track of time on Mars in real life.
How did NASA discover Watney was alive?
In order to survive, Watney needs to grow food. How does NASA figure out that Watney is alive? Satellite pictures show he moved things. According to Watney, if he does not use his heater in the rover he will be “slowly killed by the laws of _______.”
What does Mark use to establish communication with NASA?
To communicate with NASA, Watney manually points the lander’s high gain antenna towards Earth (something only possible if he unbolted it first, Manning said) and then sets up three signs around the Pathfinder in view of its mast-mounted revolving camera.