The Martian · Andy Weir, 2011

How far did Mark Watney drive in The Martian?

3,235km

From the Hab in Acidalia Planitia to the Ares 4 MAV in Schiaparelli crater: about as far as New York to Los Angeles.

See the drive on the map
For scale
New York to Los Angeles 3,940 kmLisbon to Moscow 3,900 kmWatney: Hab to Ares 4 MAV 3,235 kmLondon to Moscow 2,500 kmWatney: Hab to Pathfinder 800 km

From the bookReal world

The big drive is the second one. Watney sets off south-east across Acidalia Planitia, climbs Mawrth Vallis onto Arabia Terra, curves south round a dust storm the size of a continent, and comes down the long slope into Schiaparelli, where the Ares 4 MAV is already waiting.

He drives each morning and spends the rest of the day recharging, with the solar cells spread out round the rover. On a sunny sol that's about 90 km. Near the end the rover rolls onto its side, trailer and all, and it takes him days to dig it upright.

The places are real Mars geography, but the exact line he drives is the map's guess: the book names Mawrth Vallis, the detour round the storm and a way in on the crater rim, and the rest is filled in. So treat 3,235 km as the length of this route, not a measured figure. Earlier, the drive to Pathfinder and back was about 800 km each way.

See the drive on the map

More about The Martian