Riku Sayuj

Riku Sayuj asked Andy Weir:

Hi Andy, the only thing I was slightly uncomfortable was about the farming -- can gut bacteria so easily do the work expected of soil bacteria? Aren't gut bacteria mostly anaerobic? And what of nitrogen fixing? I am sure I am missing something, but it would be great if you could clear this up and make the whole thing seamless for this fan!

Andy Weir He had soil bacteria. He had Earth soil for a plant growth experiment he was supposed to do. He sprinkled that on the sand and feces to let it breed and inundate dirt. The main benefit of the feces was as a food source for the Earth soil bacteria, not a carrier for human intestinal bacteria.

More Answered Questions

Patrick Nichol

Patrick Nichol asked Andy Weir:

Was there a real-life astronaut that inspired you to create Mark Watney's character?

Cora

Cora asked Andy Weir:

I have read other reviews of The Martian where they rated it “bad” because of the language. I think that is absolutely ridiculous, but what do you thing about someone being so offended by words that their rating is only based on the language? Would this ever change any of your writing in the future? I absolutely LOVED your book F-bombs and all.

David Henderson

David Henderson asked Andy Weir:

In the original version of the book there was a scene at the very end of the book where Mark is back on Earth. When I reread "The Martian" that scene was cut from the book(newer version). Why was it cut?

All answers from Andy Weir…

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