Project Hail Mary Summary

A high-quality summary of Andy Weir´s book Project Hail Mary including chapter details and analysis of the main themes of the original book.

About the original Project Hail Mary book:

After The Martian (2011) and Artemis (2015), Andy Weir’s third novel, Project Hail Mary, is released in 2021. Project Hail Mary is a real work of hard science fiction, featuring Weir’s trademark blend of wit, scientific rigor, and technical speculation, as well as more speculative components of the genre, such as the depiction of human contact with extraterrestrial life. In 2020, the rights to a cinematic version of the novel were obtained.

Dr. Ryland Grace, a junior high school science teacher, wakes up with total amnesia on the Hail Mary interplanetary starship, the sole surviving member of a three-person crew, in the near future. Grace gradually recalls how his contentious academic study on extraterrestrials led to his enlistment in Project Hail Mary, a 12-light-year expedition to save mankind from the Tau Ceti solar system.

The sun on Earth is infected by Astrophage, an extraterrestrial life form that uses infrared light emission to travel a migratory pattern between the sun and Venus known as the Petrova Line. As a result of the Astrophage, mankind has just 26 years until agricultural failure, starvation, and climate change cut the world’s population by half, resulting in utter extinction. Grace must figure out why Tau Ceti is unharmed by Astrophage and send data probes back to Earth to preserve civilization.

Project Hail Mary Summary is written by Peter Cuomo.