Timeline

The timeline of The Martian is as follows:

1958

• July 29: NASA was founded.

1969

• July 16 - 24: Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins went to the moon.

1975

• May 30: The ESA was founded.

1994

• October 12: Mark Watney is born in Chicago, Illinois
• November 15: Alex Vogel is born in Germany

1995

• July 15: Melissa Lewis is born in Missoula, Montana

1996

• January 21: Rick Martinez is born in Brooklyn, New York

1999

• August 2: Chris Beck is born in Hartford, Connecticut

2006

• May 19: Beth Johanssen is born in San Jose, California

2011

• At age 15, Martinez realised that his ultimate goal was NASA.

 2022

• May-September: Beth graduated from high school and then moved on to MIT.

2026

• May: NASA completes the construction on The Hab.

• Lewis was picked to lead the Ares III manned mission to Mars at some point in 2026 in NASA Group 35.

• Martinez is selected for NASA Group 36.

2029

• The crew of the Ares I lands on Mars, taking humanity's first steps on the Red Planet.
• Chris is selected to be an astronaut with NASA Group 36.

2030

• Vogel is selected as an astronaut for the ESA Group.

2032

• Mark was selected to be an astronaut with NASA Group 27. 
• Beth was also selected to be an astronaut with NASA Group 27. 

2033

• March 23: After congressional approval, NASA formally announces goals and objectives for the Ares III mission.
• May 4: The crew is screened and selected based on those mission goals.
• September 1: Crew training begins. This can take up to two years.

• September 16: Pre-supply missions for Ares III begin.

2035

The route and trajectories of the Martian ARES III crew.

• June 29: The Ares III crew depart Earth to rendezvous with the Hermes Spacecraft in orbit.
• July 6: The Ares III crew leave the Earth orbit for Mars in the Hermes.
• November 7: The Ares III crew step foot on Mars.
• November 8: The crew will make a series of departures from The Hab to complete their primary scientific expedition beginning with soil samples.
• November 25: A powerful sand storm hits Mars causing 5 out of 6 Ares III crew members to evacuate Mars, leaving Mark Watney stranded and presumed dead.
• November 26: Watney awakens and performs emergency surgery on himself to get the piece of shrapnel out of his body.
• December 5: They were supposed to decommission The Hab, leave Mars and return to The Hermes via MAV.
• December: People at NASA learn of Mark Watney's survival on Mars but decide not to tell the Ares III crew for two months.

2036

• February: Mitch Henderson lets the Ares III crew know of their crew mate's survival.
• At some point: The crew perform the 'Rich Purnell Manoeuvre' in The HERMES, resupply using the Taiyang Shen and turn back for Mars.

2037

• February: Watney leaves Mars and returns to the Hermes.

The Mission Road Map taken from The Complete Ares 3 Mission Guide.