Some science-fiction authors prefer the term speculative fiction; but for Andy Weir, a better term might be calculated fiction. With his debut novel The Martian, Weir built an avid following by somehow turning meticulous science (Trajectories! Chemical reactions! Potato farming!) into a thrilling page-turner. That book - originally published as a series of blog posts - became a worldwide bestseller, a Ridley Scott film, and put Weir on first-name terms with real-life astronauts. Now he's back with Artemis, a crime caper set in a lunar city. He talks to WIRED about research, sci-fi's role in science and real-world space mining.
How does the research process for your novels start?
Normally I have some sort of deliberate agenda. I want to know how to mine metal on the Moon. So, what are its local rocks made of? Oh, mostly of aluminium. OK, how do I turn that [mineral] into aluminium? I look up the scientific processes. Then I'm like, OK, they'd need nuclear reactors, because the solar panels would be larger than is feasible to transport. So: what are the lightest nuclear reactors that exist? That is some of the most fun for me.
Now you're "The Martian author Andy Weir" can you just call up Nasa with any questions you have?
Well, you're not far off, in terms of access. There's a Nasa campus and research centre called Ames which is a stone's throw away from where I live in northern California. They often invite me out to speak there, go to events and lecture. Those guys are always really happy to help, but what's funny is I hardly ended up using them at all. Mostly it's just me and Google.
Did current asteroid-mining startups such as Planetary Resources [WIRED 07.16] act as an inspiration at all?
With asteroid mining, the science is pretty solid, it's just the economics that needs to be worked out. That's the only "conceit" in Artemis: that the price to low-Earth orbit is affordable so middle-class westerners can go to the Moon. I sat down and asked myself, "What if the space industry was as efficient as the commercial airline industry?" I worked out it would cost about $7,000 [£5,210] to put a human into low-Earth orbit, or $35 per kilogram, in 2015 prices.
Artemis is a city run by private space corporations - it's also riddled with greed and crime. Was that intentional?
I'm not trying to make any kind of social, #occupymoon commentary. I wanted my character to be shady, a loveable rogue - but this is just what a frontier is like. The social aspects of Artemis, you find those anywhere you have a new group of people moving in: the early 1800s in America, and in Australia.
Fox has bought the film rights. What about writing screenplays?
JK Rowling can go, "If you want to make $800 million on a movie, you'll do things my way." I haven't proven that I can regularly write books yet.
What's next?
I have an idea for another Artemis book. I would love it to be my (Terry Pratchett's) Discworld, but I'm reluctant to start until I see how it's received. If everyone's like, "Well, that sucked", I'll be hesitant about writing a sequel.
Artemis (Del Rey) is out November 14
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
