MovieChat Forums > The Martian (2015) Discussion > How much did the rescue cost?

How much did the rescue cost?

posted 7 years ago by befred8
16 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed the picture but get to wondering how much saving Mark Watney cost the taxpayer. Anyone like to guess? I'm not asking to be mean-spirited but I could see heated speeches in Congress about the matter. That happened during the only vaguely comparable incident I can think of, the rescue of polar explorer Adolphus Greeley and his crew in 1881 when their supply arrangements failed. In the end a ship was dispatched and rescued six survivors, including Greeley. Then public sympathy changed to outrage when it was learned some of the expedition had sunk to cannibalism, though not necessarily the survivors. Near the end of his life, Greeley got the Medal of Honor, one of the few awarded for peacetime actions.

[–] TD2112 7 years ago

Technically it close to nothing, Everything used to rescue him was part of the Ares program.

[–] TheCharlieMonster 7 years ago

I would assume hundreds of millions. Also he used Area IV's MAV which was a billion dollar space ship so I would think Ares IV was either scrubbed or delayed and a new MAV built and sent back there, which would have been another few billion.

Also the cost of re-supplying Hermes and I would assume the astronauts are getting paid? Maybe even overtime? And the overtime for Mission Control and JPL and the contractors who worked on the probes, etc. And little things like extra media handlers, flying a NASA representative to be with Watney'a parents, etc.

So a lot.

But if Congress failed to approve that imagine how that would look on their political resumes!

[–] mhansen-25806 7 years ago

. . . the public found out there was a plan to rescue Watney, but the agency decided not to.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made." - Grouch

[–] lostn 7 years ago

He used the resources of Ares 4 which meant that mission was no longer viable. Not to mention China had to give up their own space mission, and their rocket (very expensive) plus supplies.

This was a very expensive rescue mission for Damon. But not as expensive as Interstellar's. The rescue mission in Saving Private Ryan's great cost was in lives. Damon has made a career out of being a guy in distress that needs rescue.

[–] 2coolhipdude (101) 6 years ago

http://time.com/4162254/cost-of-rescuing-matt-damon/

[–] ExTechOp (2756) 6 years ago

A rescue like this isn't just a PR stunt

The whole point of the Ares program was to explore the feasibility of permanent human habitation on Mars

Watney is a living example of that feasibility, humanity’s first true “Martian.”

He's personally valuable to NASA not just for his experience, but his bloodwork, bone density, etc.

He is a living sample of exactly what they're trying to study - he's the PURPOSE of the entire program

[–] damocci (1502) 2 years ago

This is an excellent point. Until Mark Whatney survived alone for 561 days subsisting on food he grew himself and equipment he cannibalized using his own ingenuity, the Mars program only had a max of 31 days worth of data on how the human body copes with living in Mars's environment. As a living specimen he is invaluable and well worth the cost of the rescue mission.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16225) 2 months ago

Great post.

[–] PaladinNJ (20324) 6 years ago

Here's another way to look at it. There's running joke out there that asks:
Between Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, and The Martian, how much has the US Government spent to rescue Matt Damon?

[–] kwestmo (4122) 4 years ago

"Between Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, and The Martian, how much has the US Government spent to rescue Matt Damon?"

Great question

[–] 2coolhipdude (101) 2 years ago

I posted this link 3 years before you posted yours. Don't people today read all the comments before replying? https://time.com/4162254/cost-of-rescuing-matt-damon/

[–] Ranb (7287) 4 years ago

100's of millions at least considering their wasted a MAV on his rescue. But his activities on Mars far exceeded the entire planned five missions of the Ares program put together. Better explained in the book than the movie.

[–] thingmakersback (1203) 4 years ago

You got it! Mark Watney did two things simultaneously: He nearly starved to death while making a desperate effort to save himself... And - he succeeded in using supplies and resources that were to be abandoned in creating what was just a hairsbreadth away from being a self sustaining one man colony. If future space missions were in any jeopardy for political reasons before his experience, they would be given an enormous boost by it. A couple of hundred years on, Mark Watney might be looed back on as the savior of the human race... And there might be embarrassing statues of him, just like Zephram Cochrane in another universe.

[–] Hans-Wilhelm (1320) 4 years ago

The cost of the rocket that blew up and the 2 supply capsules....all the OT of the workers.
Hermes and Aires 4 were all already out there...no additional cost there.

[–] PaladinNJ (20324) a year ago

There were no additional costs for Ares 4 but all the expense and preparation that had already been put into it can never be recovered.

[–] UncleRuckis (2556) 4 years ago

I pity the re-election chances of any congressman bitching about the monetary cost of rescuing an American hero.