50 pages • 1 hour read
Andy WeirArtemis
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Andy Weir
Andy Weir was born in Davis, California, in 1972. His father worked as a physicist, and his mother was an electrical engineer. Weir grew up reading science fiction and programming for Sandia National Laboratories. He went to the University of California, San Diego, where he studied computer science. He never finished his degree but instead entered the workforce as a programmer for companies such as AOL and Blizzard, a video game developer.
Weir began writing in his twenties, self-publishing his stories and comics on his website from 2001 to 2008. His first notable work was a short story called “The Egg.” Weir then had significant success with his first novel, The Martian. He published the book on his website in 2011, but Amazon soon picked it up in Kindle format. The print version, published in 2014, debuted at number 12 on the New York Times Best Seller List. The novel’s success culminated in a 2015 movie adaptation starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain.
Since the enormous success of The Martian, Weir has pursued various projects across multiple mediums, including graphic novels and television shows. Artemis is Weir’s second standalone novel. It was published in 2017 and optioned for a movie the same year. Weir published his third science fiction novel, Project Hail Mary, in 2021. His fascination with space informs his work, including the lunar setting of Artemis: Weir meticulously details the technology that enables the colony to function amid an environment so hostile to human life. Critics have praised Weir for the actual science infused into the stories; he focuses on realism even in futuristic and off-Earth experiences, and his characters are relatable but have significant technical expertise.
Historical Context: NASA’s Artemis Program
Artemis derives its title from NASA’s Artemis program. Initiated in 2017, the program’s aim is continued lunar development and exploration; it focuses on exploring more of the moon, diversifying the population of lunar astronauts, and laying the groundwork for future crewed missions to Mars. To that end, NASA plans to build a semipermanent lunar settlement and base for use as a waystation to Mars.
Weir draws heavily on the established technology of NASA’s space programs, including its Space Launch System rocket, the Human Landing System, and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost. The extended expeditions on the lunar surface that the novel features also reflect the real-world stated purpose of NASA Artemis Base Camp. However, the novel’s strongest link to the Artemis missions involves a key difference separating them from NASA’s earlier Apollo missions: the reliance on partnerships with private sector partners, such as SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. NASA secures funding primarily through tax dollars, but modern space travel has private partners, corporate collaborators, and sponsors.
This capitalist change is a primary plot driver in the novel, in which the Artemis missions have resulted in a lunar settlement. The tension between the capitalist opportunities present on the moon and the needs and desires of the people who live there, serving those who visit the settlement, creates the novel’s backdrop and contributes to its exploration of The Perpetuation of Economic Inequality. The novel particularly parallels the dynamic between Elon Musk and NASA with the tension between Trond Landvik and the KSC (Kenya Space Corporation, which established the lunar colony). Artemis shines a light on the possibilities of the Artemis program but also demonstrates the possible complications of commercially developing the moon.
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By Andy Weir
