March 2024

Join us for a Mission to Mars

In 2035, humanity has finally sent its first mission to Mars—but a freak dust storm cuts the mission short and forces the crew to evacuate.

The team’s botanist and engineer Mark Watney is not so lucky: flung out of sight by the powerful storm, Watney is presumed dead, and the mission commander makes the difficult decision to abandon their search for him in favor of getting off the planet before they are trapped.

Except Mark Watney is alive.

Stranded with low food supplies, damaged machinery, and no way to contact his crewmates or mission control, Watney must rely on his ingenuity, engineering skills, and dogged refusal to quit if he is going to survive Mars’ unforgiving environment long enough for rescue to arrive.

Join the mission this March with the Vigo County Public Library and the 2024 Wabash Valley Community Read selection The Martian by Andy Weir.

The Wabash Valley Community Read is an initiative of Vigo County Public Library that aims to foster curiosity, a love of reading, and a sense of community. Around 3,000 books will be distributed in the community starting in March 2024.