The Martian

by Andy Weir

Venkat drew a line from the Hab to Mark’s location and beyond. Then took a step back. “Yup! That’s where he’s going!” Venkat said excitedly. “Oh!” Mindy said. The line passed through the exact center of a bright yellow dot printed on the map. “Pathfinder!” Mindy said. “He’s going to Pathfinder!” “Yup!” Venkat said. “Now we’re getting somewhere. It’s like eight hundred kilometers from him. He can get there and back with supplies on hand.” “And bring Pathfinder and Sojourner rover back with him,” Mindy added. Venkat pulled out his cell phone. “We lost contact with Pathfinder in 1997. If he can get it online again, we can communicate. It might just need the solar cells cleaned. Even if it’s got a bigger problem, he’s an engineer!” Dialing, he added, “Fixing things is his job!”