The Martian Human Nature

The idea that meant the most to me in “The Martian” was the idea that nothing is worth more than a human life. In the novel, no effort was spared in saving the life of a single person: Mark Watney. NASA built a million dollar space shuttle to send Mark Watney the necessary supplies he required in order to live until he could be brought back to Earth. JPL, under the command of NASA’s Teddy Sanders, worked nonstop for months in order to provide the spacecraft. Hundreds of people worked tirelessly through the night and into over-time in order to finish on time. Engineers, mechanics and astrophysicists worked to build Mark Watney a life saving shuttle. When the shuttle failed the effort didn’t stop there and a new plan was formed. The world’s greatest minds worked together to create a new plan in order to save Mark,who’s life was still in great danger. Organizations and countries all worked together to put the new plan into action, it required China to donate its booster, JPL to construct another shuttle and the Hermes crew to add 533 days to their space travel. None of those who helped flinched or thought about the cost that was being placed on one man; they just helped because it was their nature. The first chapter of the novel summarizes this philosophy perfectly: “If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do.” ( Weir 23). The idea that struck me most in the novel was how willing people are to help, no matter the cost.