The Space Between Us

"I want to go to Mars.

"Not just to visit. I want to live there.

"Because then I'd be living proof

"that life on Mars was possible.

"Proof that if we had to,

"mankind could make a fresh start.

"We're in trouble, and it's our fault.

"And we're running out of time and Mother Nature doesn't negotiate.

"We can't give up. Not now.

"Mars is a planet ripe and ready for life.

"Earth's resources may be depleted,

"but there's one resource we must never neglect.

"It's the most valuable

"and it's the one without limits.

"Courage."

I wrote those words...

I wrote those words when I was 12 years old.

My letter to the White House.

Never did I imagine the president

would read them aloud to a nation

mourning the loss of yet another crew of astronauts.

Never did I dream

that I would be proclaimed an "Emblem of Fortitude,"

a "Young Man with a Singular Vision."

And the rest is, well. ..

It's not history.

Just the beginning.

So, here we all are.

Thanks to Genesis Space Technologies,

in 20 hours the Magellan-61 will travel six astronauts to Mars,

not to visit, but to live there.

The first true citizens of Mars!

From a childhood vision to the greatest space endeavor

the world has ever attempted,

the settlement known as East Texas, Mars.

Come on, say it with me.

Just add water!

Yes!

Well, whatever I am,

I cannot begin to compare to these six heroes,

living examples of courage without limits.

And on that note,

I would like to hand things off

to the mission head of this historic expedition,

Lead Astronaut Sarah Elliot.

Sorry if we only have time for a couple of questions.

You know what it's like the night before a trip.

Scott Hubbard, Aerospace Times.

Miss Elliot,

how does it feel to sacrifice the next four years of your life to Mars?

It's not a sacrifice. It's an opportunity.

I feel humbled, excited, and grateful for the chance to be a pioneer.

Miss Elliot, aren't you scared,

given the history, given the dangers?

Of course.

I'm scared that I might let the mission down in some way.

I was taught that people who took risks without fear were brave.

Well, far braver are those that take risks despite their fear.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

Tminus ten.

Nine. Eight.

Seven. Six.

Five. Four.

Three. Two.

One. Zero.

Ignition.

Liftoff.

Liftoff for Magellan-61.

Stand by for docking to Mars transfer vehicle.

Magellan speed is good.

Watch your drift, Sarah.

Contact.

Not yet! Not yet! Not yet.

Manual capture is confirmed.

Let's go to Mars! Let's go to Mars!

You Okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Sarah, can I have a word?

What's up?

Show it to me.

We can't just turn the mission around, correct?

Doctor, how's she doing, anyway?

You mean, aside from being mortified?

She's fine.

Oh, this is a disaster.

Nathaniel, she's due shortly after they arrive.

We need to get out in front of this.

An astronaut behaved irresponsibly

and NASA will make a decision what to do as soon as the baby's born.

Decision about what?

About when to bring them back.

Tom, there's a bigger issue here.

Subjecting a fetus to zero gravity during its entire gestation...

It's uncharted territory.

We do not go to press.

We keep this internal for now.

We need to gather more information.

What are you saying?

I'm saying, we go short-term contingency.

We have Dr. Loh deliver the baby on Mars.

We keep this quiet. We wait this out.

Sarah may have behaved irresponsibly,

but she's no longer just an astronaut

and it's not just a Genesis decision.

She's a mother now.

It's her decision, too.

Big, deep breath. Push, push, push!

Good. All right, big, deep breath. Here we go.

And, push, push! Good.

Okay, good. Good job, Sarah.

Keep breathing.

You're doing great. You're doing great.

One final push!

Come on, come on, big, deep breath.

Is he okay?

Well done.

He looks great.

Sarah. Sarah?

Sarah? Her heart rate is dropping.

Hey, something's wrong!

It's postpartum preeclampsia.

Push two milligrams of lorazepam, stat.

Take it easy. Take him.

You got him? You got him?

Sarah, breathe.

She's still not responding. Give her 20 milligrams of...

Hurry, she's coding.

Come on, Sarah, breathe.

How long?

30 minutes without a heartbeat.

Stop. Stop. Hey, hey, hey, hey-

She's gone. She's gone.

She's gone.

Mr. Shepherd, are you there?

We lost her.

Okay. Here's what we know.

Two-thirds less gravity will alter the child's internal organs.

The heart will simply not be conditioned to have the strength to pump

in the Earth's gravity.

Bones will be brittle, probably oversized.

The child would never survive the trip back to Earth.

Yeah, but, Nathaniel, in the eyes of the world,

isn't this whole mission, East Texas, an experiment?

And wouldn't we be forgiven? Experiment?

Tom, this isn't a mouse. This is not a monkey.

This is a human being.

And in the eyes of the world,

the lead astronaut of the Genesis Mars Mission

not only got pregnant, but died in childbirth,

sentencing a baby to a motherless existence in outer space.

Imagine the bloody outcry.

East Texas runs on money, science, good faith,

and above all, good PR.

We're not only talking about a secret,

we're talking about a cover-up.

It will bring the company down.

Unless.

Unless what?

Unless we don't cover up, we take full responsibility.

We face it head-on.

Tom,

I wanna be on the next mission.

As a passenger? Yes.

Nathaniel, for the love of... Oh, here we go.

No, actually, he's right.

There would be no better show of support.

Thank you, Alice. Exactly.

You can imagine their morale right now.

They've just lost their leader.

Nathaniel, it is out of the question.

And you know it.

Am I missing something here?

Doctor, will you enlighten Alice, please?

Hydrocephalus.

We found it on Mr. Shepherd's very first medical.

A congenital brain disorder. It's basically benign.

Benign unless he wants to go into outer space, and then nobody knows...

And what if I'm willing to take that risk?

Sorry. Not happening.

So the child remains on Mars?

I don't...

We don't have a choice.

Say we come clean and we lose our financing.

Say we give up everything we fought for.

Say we bring everyone home. You heard the doctor.

The child wouldn't even make the trip.

Keeping this a secret saves the company,

which saves East Texas, which saves the child.

So the child remains classified?

Yes.

I'm sorry.

Yes.

Can I bring your car around, Mr. Shepherd?

Entering stratospheric flight.

Entering stratospheric flight.

Entering exospheric flight.

Entering exospheric flight.

Altitude limit. Altitude limit.

- Approaching outer space. - Yes!

Decrease velocity. Danger. Over speed.