Latin Moment #3: The Martian

     So recently I have been re-reading The Martian by Andy Weir. This book, in short is about Mark Watney, an astronaut who gets stranded on mars by himself after a serve weather storm. Mark, who was the botanist and mechanical engineer on his crew, uses his skills in order to survive the dangerous challenges Mars presents him. I recommend this book to anyone interested in space, but I think everyone would enjoy the book. I could talk about The Martian all day, of course, but I'm going to share the Latin moments I found within the story.

     First off, Mars the planet was named by the Romans aside from the Moon and Sun. It was named after the god of war, Mars, who was an important god to roman soldiers. Mars, the god, also rode a chariot pulled by two horses named Phobos and Deimos. The two small moons that orbit Mars are also called Phobos and Deimos. In the book, Mark Watney uses the small moon Phobos as a way to tell which direction. He comments how the name Phobos means fear, and how he is being guided metaphorically by fear.

Mars, the god, on his Chariot being pulled by the horses, Phobos and Deimos:

Mars, the planet, and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos:

     The next Latin moment I encountered in the book was when Mark refers to entering and exiting of his base as Ingresses and Egresses. Recently, I learned in Latin that the word ingress means 'to enter', but I also found out later that the word egress means 'to go out'. Because I knew the Latin, the concepts of ingress and egress in the book made sense.

     My last Latin moment in the book, was when Mark Watney explains where his base is on Mars' surface. The base is located on Acidalia Planitia, a very flat region of Mars located between the Tharsis volcanic region, and another region called Arabia Terra. the first word, Acidalia is a Latin word that describes something with the quality of the god, Venus. The second word, Planitia means 'low plain'. I think that the words together mean that Acidalia Planitia is a low plain with qualities like Venus the god. It might also have qualities like the planet Venus, because Acidalia Planitia is right next to a volcanic region. Because it is super flat, Acidalia Planitia aids Mark Watney when he explores in his rover. He is able to get father to his destination because the region is so flat.

Acidalia Planitia:

     Well, those were my Latin moments, and I know I wrote a lot, but I really enjoyed The Martian as a book, and there were many moments I found Latin references.

- Will Baschab