Project Hail Mary

• Genre: Fiction; science fiction/adventure
• Originally Published: 2021
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 30 chapters; approximately 476 pages; approximately 16 hours, 10 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Ryland Grace is the only survivor on a mission to save Earth from an extinction-level threat from space. After waking up alone on a spaceship with no memory of his mission or his training, Ryland must piece together what he needs to survive while working to save the planet.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Mild violence; threat of global catastrophe; isolation; death; mention of suicide; sparse profanity

Andy Weir, Author

• Bio: Born 1972; American novelist; former software engineer; self-proclaimed “space nerd”; gained recognition with his debut novel The Martian, which he originally self-published; known for detailed research and commitment to scientific accuracy; one of the prominent figures in contemporary science fiction literature
• Other Works: The Martian (2011); Artemis (2017)
• Awards: Dragon Award - Best Science Fiction Novel (2021); Goodreads Choice Award - Best Science Fiction (2022); Audie Award - Science Fiction (2022); Audie Award - Audiobook of the Year (2022); Seiun Award - Best Translated Long Work (2022)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Survival, Sacrifice, and the Utilitarian Good
• The Justifiable Use of Advanced Science for Morally Complex Purposes
• The Role of Speculation in Discovery and the Danger of Assumptions
• The Importance of Cultural Relativism in Collaboration