
In a painful procedure, Watney pulls the antenna out, uses forceps to fish out a piece that broke off in the wound, then staples the wound shut. He's been impaled by part of an antenna, which still protrudes from his abdomen the combination of the antenna and his own blood sealed the suit just enough to keep most of his air from leaking out. His oxygen is depleting rapidly, so he makes his way back to the habitat station. Watney wakes up on Mars on what is Sol 21 (mission day 21) after the storm has passed. Back on Earth, NASA Director Teddy Sanders ( Jeff Daniels) holds a press conference to announce that while the Hermes crew succeeded in leaving Mars, Mark Watney was lost, and he is declared dead. The pilot, Martinez, is barely able to keep the rocket from toppling but the launch from the planet is successful. They head back into the MAV without Watney and lift off. Lewis tries to guide the others to find Watney, but visibility is very poor and the storm is way too strong for them. A satellite dish breaks off and strikes Watney, knocking him out of sight of the rest of the crew.

Heavy winds and sand gusts surround them. Watney argues for waiting it out and brings up the rear as the crew heads toward the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle), the ship that will take them back to the orbiting Hermes, in their suits. The storm's intensity and high winds lead Commander Lewis to order a mission abort.


The crew learns that a storm is approaching. At the landing site of the shuttle Ares III, Acidalia Planitia, Mars, at a time in the near future, the crew of the Hermes including Commander Melissa Lewis ( Jessica Chastain), botanist Mark Watney ( Matt Damon), IT guru Beth Johanssen ( Kate Mara), pilot Rick Martinez ( Michael Peña), flight surgeon Chris Beck ( Sebastian Stan), and navigator and chemist Alex Vogel ( Aksel Hennie) are gathering samples before re-entering their living facility, the HAB.
