The Martian: Chapters 4–7

by Andy Weir
Botanist and mechanical engineer Mark Watney was chosen for NASA's Ares Program to explore Mars, but when a sandstorm prevents him from reaching the departing spaceship, his new solo mission is figuring out how to use the limited resources to survive on a lifeless planet.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–13, Chapters 14–19, Chapters 20–26
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. strut
    brace consisting of a bar or rod used to resist compression
    I'll vent it into the Hab via the highly scientific method of detaching the tank from the MAV landing struts, bringing it into the Hab, then opening the valve until it's empty.
  2. aperture
    a usually small man-made opening
    With some more string from Johannsen's clothing, I hung the other end of the hose from the top of the Hab's dome by two angled threads (to keep them well clear of the hose opening). Now I had a little chimney. The hose was about one centimeter wide. Hopefully a good aperture.
  3. exothermic
    occurring or formed with the release of heat
    The main thing I had to watch was the temperature. Hydrazine breaking down is extremely exothermic.
  4. implementation
    the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order
    They say no plan survives first contact with implementation.
  5. protocol
    rules determining the format and transmission of data
    I had all these plans about getting in and reprogramming it. But the safety protocols turned out to be in ROMs.
  6. frayed
    worn away or tattered along the edges
    I tore the LED bulbs out of one and left the two frayed power wires very close together. Now, when I turned it on, I got a small spark.
  7. elated
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    I was elated! This was the best plan ever!
  8. disarray
    untidiness, especially of clothing and appearance
    One minute I was happily burning hydrogen; the next I was on the other side of the Hab, and a lot of stuff was knocked over. I stumbled to my feet and saw the Hab in disarray.
  9. prone
    lying face downward
    Then I thought, "I'm dizzy," and fell to my knees. Then I fell prone.
  10. amiss
    not functioning properly
    I groped my head with both hands, looking for a head wound I desperately hoped would not be there. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
  11. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    I clambered over debris back to Lewis's space suit and put my head back in for more good air.
  12. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    Mostly the damage was on my sleeves. The outer layer was gone. The middle layer was singed and burned clean through in places.
  13. integrity
    an undivided or unbroken completeness with nothing wanting
    Number one was the integrity of the Hab canvas. I felt pretty confident it was in good shape, because I'd spent a few hours asleep in the rover before returning to the Hab, and the pressure was still good.
  14. fluctuation
    an instance of change
    The computer reported no change in pressure over that time, other than a minor fluctuation based on temperature.
  15. subside
    wear off or die down
    According to the main computer, during the blast, the internal pressure spiked to 1.4 atmospheres, and the temperature rose to 15°C in under a second. But the pressure quickly subsided back to 1 atm.
  16. combustion
    a reaction of a substance with oxygen to give heat and light
    The hydrogen (the only available thing to burn) combined with oxygen (hence combustion) and became water.
  17. cistern
    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids
    The water reclaimer did its job last night and pulled 50 liters of the newly created water out of the air. It's storing it in Lewis's spacesuit, which I'll call "The Cistern" from now on, because it sounds cooler.
  18. profoundly
    to a great depth psychologically
    After four nights of awful sleep in the rover, my bunk felt like the softest, most profoundly beautiful feather bed ever made.
  19. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
    Commander Lewis and the surviving crew, via long-range communication from Hermes, gave eulogies for their departed comrade from deep space.
  20. adversity
    a stroke of ill fortune; a calamitous event
    The administrator had given a speech as well, reminding everyone that space flight is incredibly dangerous, and that we will not back down in the face of adversity.
  21. fruitless
    unproductive of success
    Slightly ashamed of herself, she scoured the image for any sign of Mark Watney's dead body. After a minute of fruitless searching, she was simultaneously relieved and disappointed.
  22. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
    "What are the odds?"
    Chuck turned to him. "One in three, based on empirical data. That's pretty bad if you think about it."
  23. mea culpa
    an acknowledgment of your error or guilt
    Not only did she have to deliver the biggest mea culpa in NASA's history, every second of it would be remembered forever.
  24. inherently
    in an essential manner
    Astronauts are inherently insane. And really noble.
  25. trajectory
    the path followed by an object moving through space
    It can't get back to orbit, but it can go to the Ares 4 site on a lateral trajectory that's, well, really scary.
  26. terrain
    a piece of ground having specific characteristics
    And because I'm on the flattest part of Mars, the first 650 kilometers is nice, smooth terrain (Yay Acidalia Planitia!) but the rest of it is nasty, rugged, crater-pocked hell.
  27. negligible
    so small as to be meaningless; insignificant
    According to my boring math, moving the rover eats 200 watt hours of juice to go 1 kilometer, so using the full 18,000 watt hours for motion (minus a negligible amount for computer, life support, etc.) gets me 90 kilometers of travel.
  28. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
    This time of year I get about thirteen hours of light. How many solar cells will I have to pilfer from the Hab's farm?
  29. splice
    join the ends of
    For a short time, I wondered how to splice the second battery's leads into the main power supply.
  30. lattice
    framework consisting of an ornamental wood or metal design
    Each solar cell is on a lightweight lattice that holds it at a 14-degree angle.
  31. blight
    any plant disease resulting in withering without rotting
    They grew even better than I had expected. Mars has no insects, parasites, or blights to deal with, and the Hab maintains perfect growing temperature and moisture at all times.
  32. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    The time has come (ominous musical crescendo) for some missions!
  33. entropy
    energy in a system no longer available for mechanical work
    All my brilliant plans foiled by thermodynamics. Damn you, Entropy!
  34. isotope
    atom with same atomic number, different number of neutrons
    Plutonium-238 is an incredibly unstable isotope. It's so radioactive that it will get red hot all by itself.
  35. component
    one of the individual parts making up a larger entity
    An Ares mission is all about the MAV. It's the single most important component. It's one of the few systems that can't be replaced or worked around. It's the only component that causes a complete mission scrub if it's not working.
  36. parameter
    any factor defining a system and determining its performance
    The mission parameters don't give a specific location to dump the RTG. Just "at least four kilometers away."
  37. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    As I made my way toward the RTG's burial site, it hit me: Mars is a barren wasteland and I am completely alone here.
  38. disconcerting
    causing an emotional disturbance
    I could feel the warmth it gave off even through my suit's gloves. That's really disconcerting. Especially when you know the root cause of the heat is radiation.
  39. leach
    permeate or seep into gradually
    Over time, heat will slowly leach out.
  40. paltry
    contemptibly small in amount or size
    The RTG is a generator. It's a paltry amount of power, compared to what the rover consumes, but it's not nothing.
Created on Sat Jul 22 09:28:46 EDT 2023 (updated Sun Jul 23 10:11:39 EDT 2023)

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