In Andy Weir's novel The Martian, Mark Watney declares at one point that he's technically a space pirate because
he is going to commandeer the Ares 4 MAV without explicit permission from NASA. The reason he doesn't have explicit permission is that the Pathfinder communications circuits were fried in an earlier mishap, cutting off his communication with NASA. This requires him to undertake his journey to the Ares 4 MAV without external guidance.
he is going to commandeer the Ares 4 MAV without explicit permission from NASA. The reason he doesn't have explicit permission is that the Pathfinder communications circuits were fried in an earlier mishap, cutting off his communication with NASA. This requires him to undertake his journey to the Ares 4 MAV without external guidance.
In the film, he delivers the same line about being a space pirate; however
he never loses communication with NASA because the Pathfinder communications are never destroyed. He has apparent communications with NASA at least up to the time that he leaves the Hab. So there's no reason he wouldn't have explicit permission from NASA (an explicit order even) to commandeer the Ares 4 MAV.
he never loses communication with NASA because the Pathfinder communications are never destroyed. He has apparent communications with NASA at least up to the time that he leaves the Hab. So there's no reason he wouldn't have explicit permission from NASA (an explicit order even) to commandeer the Ares 4 MAV.
Given this disparity between novel and film, does the "space pirate" line actually make sense in the latter?
