One Under the Sun

...about the upcoming launch of the

Samsara International mission to Mars.

Sources within the European space agency, speaking off the record,

have confirmed that the upcoming International mission to Mars

could be in jeopardy, after last week's assassination

of Chinese President Tzang Wanzhou.

When NASA defunded its extra-planetary projects

as part of the 2024 agency restructuring,

China's national Space administration

stepped into a leadership role in the Samsara mission,

amid rumors that the PRC's involvement

is a cover for its military ambitions.

NASA's Samsara liaison continues to deny

that the mission has been compromised,

insisting that the Samsara mission's International crew

is united in their goals and focus.

I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars

and return them safely to earth.

And a landing on Mars will follow.

And I expect to be around to see it.

Like the scientific missions based in Antarctica,

Samsara exists outside of politics.

As the world mourns the death of madame Zhang,

mission commander Robert Liu has met with all the agencies involved

to reassure them that the fight will go on.

Man will step foot on Mars before the end of the year.

- Where is she? - In the lab.

- You left her there alone? - She's fine.

Bianca's doing the blood work.

- She likes Bianca? - Yeah.

Yeah, she does.

Okay, let's go.

Kat... Kat.

What... What?

- Doctor wants to talk to us. - No!

- Without Amelia. - No!

Kat... We need to hear what he has to say.

I'm sorry.

You said it was gone.

What I said was that it was in remission.

We always knew that there was a chance...

You said it was gone.

It's never that simple.

Explain it then, huh?

Feel free to use short words.

- The tumors have spread... - Tumors?

As in more than one?

What are our options?

Chemo, surgery, radiation, what?

- I'm afraid... - None of the above!

I'm gonna be in the lab with Amelia.

All available personnel to the ER.

Kathryn's been under a lot of pressure.

The mission coming up.

I can imagine.

And now this.

It must be very frustrating

to come so close and then have to step aside,

to hand over your place in history to someone else.

She's not stepping aside.

We all agree. Kathryn's going to Mars.

How long?

There's no way of telling, you know.

In cases like this...

Amelia. Her name is Amelia!

So this is where the party is.

Daddy!

We're all done here,

but you may want to swing by the cafeteria to get some juice, okay?

'Cause I took a lot of blood.

Mm. Juice sounds good.

Cras-ras? Oh, I know, I know, I know.

Pickle juice and strained Sauerkraut!

Sound good?

No. I want to go home.

I'm tired.

Oh, baby.

Piggyback ride, hmm?

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Come on. Oh, yeah!

- Bye, Bianca. - Bye.

Thank you.

Before I met you,

the only constellation I could name was the big dipper.

Everybody starts with the big dipper, and Orion.

Amelia asked me for a telescope for Christmas,

so she could see you on Mars.

I'm thinking maybe you should get it for her birthday instead.

Doctor said...

Doctor said that we should appreciate the time we have with her,

whether it's three weeks or three years.

Three years? He said three years?

He was that specific?

- He said three years? - It could be longer.

I won't be back for three years.

It could be longer, he said.

Amelia's strong. She's a fighter.

- She's like you! - Like me.

I mean, what kind of mother abandons her dying child?

You are the greatest mother a little girl could ask for.

And the greatest wife.

You don't just belong to us.

What you're doing,

it's gonna make the world a better place.

Not just for me and you and Amelia but for everyone.

If there's even a mission.

You don't think the Chinese will pull out?

No, but the guy who shot the president, he was American.

That's not on the news.

Yeah, they're trying to embargo it.

The PRC intelligence agents tracked him down to Hong Kong,

and took him into custody this morning.

He claims he's part of a group

that doesn't want humanity to leave earth.

If God wanted man to fly,

- he would have given him wings. - Exactly.

What a mess.

It's all a mess.

And all we're going to do is bring our problems with us.

Man's greatest export to the universe.

My grandad once told me,

that when he was 15, it was the worst year he's ever lived through.

Robert Kennedy was just assassinated,

and Martin Luther King.

The My Lai Massacre happened.

Russian tanks were rolling into Czechoslovakia.

It was just one God-awful thing after another,

and there was no reason to believe that 1969

would be any better.

And then Apollo 11 made it to the moon.

And Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong,

they left their footprints in the moon dust.

And my grandad said that when he saw those footprints,

he felt like crying, because he knew that

everything was gonna be okay.

You need to leave your footprints in the Mars dust,

so that everyone will know it's gonna be okay,

that no matter what's happening right now,

there's something bigger out there.

You need to give people hope.

I'm going to enhance these beautiful cheekbones.

You all right, sweetie?

I don't feel so good.

You don't?

Oh.

It's okay, baby. It's all right.

Oh, thanks.

Oh, don't cry, sweetheart. Do you need the bathroom?

It's just out the door to the right.

I'm so sorry.

You know, the meds she's on, it's...

My son had a bad stomach.

Cancer.

He had cancer.

My baby.

You need some roses on your cheeks.

Sit.

All right, roses coming up.

It tickles.

Sissy!

How are you, my lovely girl?

- Oh my. - Safari Njema.

- Oh. - Did I say it right?

Perfectly, my dear. I'll see you out there.

Constance, can I speak to you for a second?

Oh.

You look beautiful.

Safari nem...

- Njema. - Njema? What?

It means "bon voyage" in Swahili.

Ahh.

Well, look at you.

Constance gave me roses.

Roses in her cheeks.

Constance felt that she was looking a little pale.

I threw up in front of Constance.

Was this before or after she gave you the roses?

- Before. -

I'm thirsty.

Yeah, why don't you guys go grab something from the snack cart?

Yeah? Even if the press conference starts on time,

you've got about half an hour.

- You want anything? - No.

I know you didn't eat breakfast.

- What's breakfast? - The most important meal of the day.

That's right.

Get you a muffin. Come on.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome

the Samsara international space team.

Jeff Taylor, Toronto globe and mail.

My question's for Dr. Liu.

You have a long history in heterogeneous catalyst and surface science.

You've pioneered work with nanotubes,

nanomaterials and nanostructures.

How will your work be integrated into the mission?

It is the mission.

Without nanotechnology and nanomaterials,

there is no Mars colony.

Without me, there is no mission.

So wait, you mean I can stay home and watch the world cup?