Mark Watney

Mark Watney, the main protagonist of The Martian, is a botanist and NASA astronaut who is stranded on the surface of Mars. His NASA mission titled Ares III was disembarked after a Martian wind storm skewed the path of the Ares III NASA ship. Mark

evacuates the ship to save his crew, leaving him on the surface of Mars. Throughout his time on Mars, Mark must discover ways to cultivate plant life and create water on the desolate surface of Mars. Mark is seen as both a resilient and brave man in the entirety of The Martian. Brave because of the sacrifice he made to save his crew, and resilient because of his perseverance through difficult situations as he tackles and solves many adversities on Mars. In most of Mark’s story he is stranded on the surface of Mars and does not make much contact with Earth, but he does reminisce about his crewmates and how well they got along. Mark overall is a brave, strong, funny, and all around interesting main character as he recounts his time on Mars.