Hey, baby.
Sorry it's been so long since my last message.
We've been working around the clock to dig out the MSAM
and haul it over to Happy Valley for repairs.
Basically sleeping over there at this point.
I know that doesn't sound good, but in a weird way, it's helping me,
helping all of us to move past what happened.
And I think we might actually be able to get Popeye back in flying shape
in time for the next launch window back to Earth.
Problem is, it's going to take a while
to make enough fuel to launch with the equipment we have left.
Well, that and figuring out a way
to squeeze all nine of us in there for the launch.
Gonna be as tight as an Apollo capsule, but we'll get there.
Off this rock, once and for all.
Goddamn this thing.
What now?
Sorry. It's just-- At this rate, with that puny little fuel generator,
we'll be lucky to have enough propellant to make our launch date next month.
Can't it work any faster?
It was never meant to process this much methane.
It's like filling up a jetliner with a soda can.
Takes time.
I know, I know. But have you smelled the base lately?
Those toilets were not made for that many people.
You think once we leave, they'll ever send anybody back to Mars?
-Doubt it. Not in my lifetime anyway. -I think you're right.
All we can do is try and get this thing ready in time for launch.
Roger that.
I'm due back at the sewer.
-Want me to send you anything? -I already had my ration for today.
Early bird gets the worm.
Worm sounds about right.
Don't work too hard.
Roger that.
All right, what you got?
Ready? All right.
That-- Yeah, you got-- Okay, all right.
You're getting closer, Lou.
-Hey, Skipper. -How's fuel production going?
"Moving like molasses," as you Americans say.
Sort of like you.
Hey.
How's it?
Hey, hey, hey. I wasn't finished with that.
Yeah, well, I got seniority.
Here you go, kiddo.
That stuff makes me nauseous.
My grandson gotta eat.
So it's a "him" today?
You know, whichever way it goes.
Edward is a great name. Girl or boy.
I was thinking something like "Ariella."
Ariella? You want her to end up selling bath beads and patchouli?
Hey, you're gonna need a lot of homeopathic remedies in your old age.
-Astronaut Baldwin. -Yeah?
You've been avoiding me. Again.
And failing again.
Follow me.
See? That's why no one trusts a flight surgeon.
'Cause they're always on the hunt for bad news.
You mean news like Mars radiation could damage the child's DNA?
Or weak gravity could impede its bone development?
Jesus, doc. Go easy.
I will go easy after we get her up to Phoenix for the birth.
It was not my idea to have a baby on this forsaken planet.
Yes, as you remind me every day.
Mouth closed.
How is your wound, Commander?
Yeah, cream helped the pain. Thank you.
Good.
Have you figured out how to make one of your pressure suits fit her
for the MSAM launch?
The hard shell's still a problem,
but NASA's got two teams of their best and brightest
working on it around the clock.
Meaning they haven't come up with anything yet.
So much for NASA's fabled ingenuity.
130 over 85.
Still higher than I'd like.
You should just use Soviet suit. Material is more flexible.
-Yeah, that might actually work. -Of course.
Activity?
She's either playing handball or the bongos in there.
Do you want to hear?
Dad.
Now, by the time Kelly Baldwin gives birth to America's favorite baby Martian
two months from now…
the child will have enough booties to last a lifetime.
The decision to proceed with the pregnancy,
which some regard as controversial
in light of the dangerous conditions on the planet,
has nonetheless captured the imagination of people around the world.
And that's why NASA wants the baby to be born aboard the Phoenix?
That's right. People aboard Phoenix experience full Earth gravity, which is…
And to distract us from the disaster that it really is,
the Wilson administration feeds the media tidbits
about Kelly Baldwin's Mars baby.
Does President Wilson really think we're that naive?
You and I both know the Mars program has been a fiasco.
This bill will restore a system of checks and balances
by giving Congress direct authority over the agency's budget--
And give you the ability to redline specific programs.
If I sign this bill, Congress will defund the Mars program.
No one will go back, maybe ever, and space exploration will slowly die.
If I were you, Madam President, I would think less about space
and more about next year's election.
Your concern for my political future moves me to the brink of tears, Dick.
Have you seen the homeless encampments spreading across our major cities?
Filled with former oil and gas workers, coal miners.
People put out of work by helium-3 and nuclear fusion.
We need to fix things here on Earth
before we spend trillions gallivanting to far-off planets.
The space program is making life here on Earth better.
And I won't undermine all the progress we've made.
So, go ahead and pass your bill, Dick.
And I will veto it.
I'm very disappointed to hear that.
Madam President, may I speak with you in private?
As I'm sure you're aware, a few months ago,
staff for Congressman Willie Baron discovered
that your husband was having an affair with a White House employee.
A slanderous rumor.
Congressman Baron failed to produce a shred of evidence for one reason.
It never happened.
So your husband claimed under oath.
If we were to discover that Mr. Wilson was lying to the committee,
you understand that he would be open to a charge of perjury?
Where are you going with this?
Madam President,
is it true that you have a recording system in the Oval Office?
We have a source who claims
that a recording system first installed by John F. Kennedy is still in use.
Even if there was a recording system in use,
those tapes would be protected by executive privilege.
We'll see what the courts say about that.
We are going to subpoena any recordings made in this office
on the week of your husband's testimony.
If there was any attempt at a cover-up,
not only will he be charged with perjury,
you will be impeached for obstruction of justice.
You can't be serious.
Congress hasn't impeached a president in more than 120 years.
This is a new low, even for you.
Well, that's rich coming from a woman who had Karl Rove and Lee Atwater
to do her dirty work so her image could remain as pure as driven snow.
All those robocalls about Bill Clinton's supposed secret love child,
and now you wanna claim the high ground?
What's your point, Dick? Do you have one?
Sign the NASA bill.
It's the smart move.
Because if the press were to find out about Larry's… indiscretion,
your political standing would evaporate even more than it already has.
And I'd easily be able to override your veto.
Now, I don't want to go that road if I don't have to.
But make no mistake,
I will use every tool at my disposal to make this bill law.
Glad you could come.
To your garage?
I want you to look at something and… tell me I'm not crazy.
Jesus Christ.
During the rescue of the cosmonauts,
I discovered that their nuclear engine design was almost identical
to an early version of ours.
Someone at NASA gave it to them.
Margo?
She's the only one who had access to everything.
But-- But Margo? Margo Madison?
She's the head of NASA.
She's been trying to beat the Russians for three decades.
Why would she do this? It doesn't make sense.
I don't know. But I can't get this out of my head, Bill.
I feel like I really am going crazy.
Yeah, clearly.
This is like the lair of a Batman villain.
Let me lay it all out for you.
If you still think I'm crazy,
I'll burn all of it.
I'm gonna need another beer.
I'm proud to announce that we are about to begin production
on Calypso, which will be ready to launch in 1999.
Unlike Phoenix, Calypso will run on nuclear plasma propulsion,
and she'll have enough power to travel to the Red Planet almost anytime,
even outside the normal launch windows.
And we're building two more just like it,
which will allow us to rapidly expand our footprint on the Red Planet.
Over the next decade, our base will grow to include several mining operations,
a spaceport, greenhouses for crops,
and dormitories that will house thousands of colonists in the new--
Just stop there.
Need I remind you,
an entire fucking mountain just came down on us,
wiping out nearly every asset we had.
Not to mention the three people who died.
Yes.
But do any of you remember Jamestown?
Not the lunar base,
but the first permanent English settlement in Virginia, founded in 1607.
Do any of you know how many settlers died in the first three years?
Eighty percent.
From disease.
From starvation.
From the elements.
Suppose the original settlers said, you know, "This is just-- just too hard.
Let's just forget about this new world with its unlimited possibilities
and go back to Mother England with our tail between our legs."
Could you imagine that?
My God, Dicky…
you have lost sight of the big picture.
We found water.
Enough to sustain a colony of thousands.
It doesn't change the fact that our stock price is in a free fall.
Antitrust lawyers at DOJ are sniffing around,
and we just got back the liability report from the accident
saying that one of our employees caused the fucking landslide.
So on top of everything else, now we're vulnerable to massive lawsuits.
The board has discussed this at length,
and… we no longer share your optimism.
Helios has squandered billions on this-- this fantasy of yours.
We've decided to pivot back to our core business,
mining helium-3 on the moon.
There will be no more missions to Mars.
Guys, I know this is stressful.
No one is more keenly aware of this than me.
You give me a little more time,
and I'ma pull us out of this hole.
I promise.
You couldn't keep it in your pants for one term, Larry?
-One term? -I know I messed up,
but if Baron had more, he would've used it.
It's go-gonna blow over. It'll be fine.
"Fine"? You lied under oath.
-Don't you get that? -They set me up.
Plain and simple. It was a trap.
They didn't force you to sleep with him, did they?
What is so special about Jeremy Zielke that you're willing to throw away
everything we've worked our entire lives to build?
Our careers. Our family.
Well, that was way worse than I remembered it.
What the hell do we do?
If they hear any of that, you'll go to jail and I'll be impeached.
We don't need to give in on this.
It's your personal property.
It's protected by executive privilege.
No. They'll take it to the Supreme Court, and we'll probably lose.
And if we do, it'll weaken not only me but every president who succeeds me.
Okay, so,
maybe we give the appearance of cooperating.
Send them transcripts of the tapes.
Black out the incriminating portions
and claim they relate to national security.
No one will buy that.
No.
Okay, suppose…
Suppose the recording device malfunctioned.
And for some reason, this portion is just blank.
We don't know why. We're not recording technicians.
You mean erase it?
That would expose us to further charges of obstruction.
You're right.
And what happens when Jeremy gets out of rehab?
They'll force him to testify.
Would he commit perjury for you?
Probably not.
He was…
He was pretty pissed about being cut loose.
There is one way out.
I'll call a press conference,
and I'll confess to the world that I had an affair with Jeremy.
I'll tell them you knew nothing about it. That you didn't know that I was gay.
That it was all on me.
I betrayed my loving wife…
whose only sin was falling for a lying philanderer.
Larry, you can't do that. You'd-- You'd be a--
What? A pariah?
A laughingstock? A national joke?
I'm getting used to that.
I can't let you do this.
Give me a chance to make things right.
And the vibrational profile of their hydrogen turbopump.
The impeller blade pass frequency is 2165 hertz.
Exactly the same as ours.
You'd think they would've shifted it a few hertz to try and hide it.
Yeah, it's like they're trying to fuck with me.
So I thought it might be Lainey.
She was there for the whole impeller redesign.
And that's how I eliminated you as a suspect.
You thought it was me?
You did leave NASA in a hurry.
Can't tell if I'm insulted or flattered.
Anyway,
after this process of elimination…
Margo was the only one left.
It had to be her.
So, what do you think?
Please tell me I'm crazy.
You are not crazy.
We need to talk to her. Find out why she--
You have to go to the FBI, Aleida.
What? No.
No fucking way. Bill…
-you know what they did to my father. -I know. You think I want this?
I love Margo as much as anybody,
but this is some heavy-duty national security shit we're talking about.
Who knows how far it's gone?
I mean… she's basically a fucking spy, Aleida.
-Stop. -She is.
It makes me wanna vomit, but it's the truth.
You have to go to the FBI with this.
Bill, no.
-Hey, got a sec? -Of course.
I've been going through our financials since the board meeting, and…
I think we need to face reality here.
We can't keep this company solvent,
let alone expand our footprint on Mars, without an infusion of cash.
And we need it fast.
I'm guessing you have something in mind?
I think that our best move to generate revenue
and get us out of this hole
is we sell Phoenix to NASA.
Absolutely not.
Are you kidding?
Besides, they'd never go for it.
They will.
What are you talking about?
I approached some people that I know within the agency
and quietly floated the idea.
And the response was really positive.
-They feel as though-- -You approached NASA
without my permission?
Your permission? I'm COO of this company.
You told them we're so desperate for cash, we'd be willing--
-That is not what I said at all. -But they can put the pieces together.
You just gave Margo Madison all the ammunition she needs
to publicly humiliate me.
I am trying to save your company-- our company-- from insolvency.
-We don't need anybody's help. -The numbers don't lie.
No, but they don't always tell the full story.
Have some faith, Karen.
Christ. Look.
The rendezvous radar must have taken a beating in the slide.
Without that--
Popeye won't be able to dock with Phoenix.
Maybe it's not that bad.
Help me get this housing off.
Oh, shit. Shit! Shit! Shit!
Primary integration card is toast.
And the spare is aboard Phoenix.
Might as well be on Jupiter.
Will, does Sojourner have a rendezvous system we can use?
Negative. It was a part of the original design,
but it was never installed.
-Why not? -Well, we weren't planning on docking
with anything on this mission,
and, we were in a big-ass hurry to catch you guys and launch in '94.
Yes. Free-market competition pays dividends yet again.
Yeah.
What are we gonna do?
We can't dock with Phoenix.
We'll miss the next launch window to Earth.
We'll be stranded here.
We can't fabricate one of these ourselves?
Unless you want to go to Kyiv for the parts.
It's a damn shame Helios didn't buy their rendezvous systems
from the good old US of A.
Yeah, and Popeye won't get close enough to Phoenix
for dock and capture without it.
Pity we didn't take this Kurs unit from the Soviet ship
before we cut her loose.
Well, there are more of them already here on Mars.
-There are? -Where?
We have five Kurs Novaya-Aktivnaya units
on the surface of Mars.
They're on sample-return probes
we were hoping to retrieve with our Mars ship.
The problem is,
the closest one is over 1,500 kilometers from Happy Valley.
The trip would take a month if everything goes right,
and we can't wait that long to get Kelly Baldwin up to Phoenix.
Miss Catiche,
didn't Russia sell your rendezvous system to other countries?
It is true.
We sold Kurs units to India, Turkey and to North Korea.
Bill, does Helios have a way of accessing the locations
of every Turkish, North Korean and Indian probe that's been sent to Mars?
Sure. Yeah, one second.
How far is the closest?
So this one here is 89 kilometers out.
It looks like it belongs to the People's Republic of Korea.
That's the probe they launched in the '94 window.
I remember it docked in low Earth orbit, probably to refuel.
Which makes it pretty certain that it has an automated docking system.
It will be Kurs-NA.
Or a clone of it.
I'd say we have a winner.
North Korea approved this?
Better to ask for forgiveness later than beg for permission now.
This goes against almost all of our safety protocols.
We can only spare one rover.
It's nine hours each way, far beyond walk-back range.
Sounds like fun. Sign me up.
Sorry, Ed. You're more familiar with the Helios systems than anybody…
-Come on. -…and we need those working
to get off this planet.
No, no. I'm not risking any of your people on this.
Kurs-NA is a newer design,
and Baranov isn't familiar with the new iteration,
and Mayakovsky's required here for pregnancy.
The rovers are NASA gear.
Will is working on the MSAM, so the choice is pretty clear.
You and me.
I can't fucking believe you did this.
Just hear what she has to say.
Here you go.
-Thank you. -Welcome.
Look, whatever you think is gonna happen,
you should know I don't care much for the FBI.
I wouldn't either if I were you.
Bill told me what happened with your father.
It wasn't right.
Well, isn't that nice?
What else did you share with your little friend here, Bill?
-I'm just trying to help you. -Gee. Thanks.
I know this is not an easy position to be in,
and I am truly sorry about what happened to your father.
Frankly, I don't blame you for not trusting us.
And I'm guessing it's just a coincidence that they had you talk to me,
of all the agents.
I'm sure it's not.
Look, the FBI is not perfect.
But you and I, we both took the same oath when we started working for this country,
to support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
And I know you care about what happened here,
or you wouldn't have reached out to Bill.
I don't care what the fuck you say.
I'm not helping you.
That's your choice.
You don't have to cooperate,
but we're moving forward with this regardless.
The case file is open. We'll get to the bottom of what happened.
And at some point, you'll be called to testify against her.
-Is that a threat? -No. It's a fact.
So be it.
Come on, Aleida. Just sit down. Just hear what--
I don't wanna hear another word out of you. Do you get that?
You're fucking dead to me.
Aleida? Aleida!
What's the matter?
Are you okay?
I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.
Are you in trouble?
My daughter.
No, Papa.
It's nothing.
I'll figure it out.
There…
There, there, there…
My Graciana…
Don't cry.
Don't cry, my love.
Graciana?
No, Papa.
It's your daughter, Aleida.
Not Mama.
I know.
I know, my daughter.
Everything will be all right.
Danielle, how many spare batteries do you think we need?
We'll be back by tomorrow. The extra weight will just slow us down.
I'd rather have the juice and not need it.
Solar cells can break, and I don't fancy an 89-kilometer walk back home. Do you?
Happy Valley. Phoenix.
Phoenix. Happy Valley.
Priority uplink from Helios.
It's the drilling accident investigation report.
Sending it over now.
Finally. They took their good sweet time about it.
-Got it, Phoenix. -Roger. Phoenix out.
What does it say?
It's wrapped up in a bunch of bureaucratic verbiage,
but bottom line, they're calling it an operator error.
Who?
They're putting it on Nick Corrado for, quote,
"failure to correctly monitor housing pressure
and take appropriate action at reservoir penetration,"
end quote.
Typical cover-your-ass move.
Yep, blame the dead guy.
Then you can't be sued for building crappy gear.
-Same in the Soviet system. -This is bullshit.
But to put that on Nick?
I mean, it's bad enough the landslide killed him,
but now they're trying to pin the whole thing on him? It's not right.
I mean, how'd they even come up with that report?
Yeah, this whole thing, it's a load of bullshit!
Yeah?
Heard about your plan to sell Phoenix.
Dev told you?
Well, we're not exactly speaking at the moment.
Like you, I've got contacts at NASA, and they're very keen on this idea.
Yeah, I know. Come on in.
I tried to sell Dev on the idea, and he just wouldn't listen.
He's… changed.
Quite a bit since we first met.
At MIT, right?
Intro to Nuclear Physics.
Where you two first figured out how to crack nuclear fusion.
Yeah, and back then everyone was desperate
to be the one who finally figured fusion out.
Trouble was, nobody could make the reaction last.
Until Dev.
He figured out a way to bring helium-3 nuclei together
and keep the reaction going.
And brought the world cheap, clean energy.
Watching him work, I knew I was in the presence of greatness.
He was unlike any other engineer I'd ever met.
So, what happened? Why are you two always at each other's throats?
Simple.
I'm the only one who tells him "no."
The little word no one likes to hear.
-Especially not Dev. -No. No.
The man's been swallowed alive by his own myth.
And now so will this company.
Unless we move forward with your plan, selling Phoenix to NASA.
I've already pitched the idea to the board.
-They think it's a stroke of genius. -And Dev is never going to approve it.
That won't be an issue. We've decided to remove him as CEO.
You-- I'm sorry, you're firing Dev?
He'll still have a seat on the board, but strictly in an advisory capacity.
Who are you going to get to replace him?
You.
Lar?
Hi. What time is it?
It's a little after 9:00. You-- You want me to take him up to bed?
No, no, that's okay. I can do it. Come on, pal.
You ready?
Ready? Three, two, one.
Oh, my gosh. You're heavy.
Goodness gracious.
Larry?
About tomorrow…
You don't have to do this.
We can find another way.
We've been over that. There is no other way.
I wanna do this. I need to.
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for coming on such short notice.
I'd like to share something.
I…
I have something I'd like to share with you all…
Good morning.
First of all, I would like to thank the American people for their support
over the last two years.
Together, we have achieved great things.
Making America energy independent, sharply reducing greenhouse gases
and developing new technologies
that will assure the United States remains a dominant superpower
well into the 21st century.
And, of course, there was our first manned mission to Mars.
And despite the recent casualties,
our journey to the Red Planet will go down in history as a remarkable achievement,
equal to the Lewis and Clark expedition,
Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigating the Earth,
and Aleksei Leonov landing on the moon in June of 1969.
And yet, after all we have accomplished,
I come before you today
to confess that I have failed you.
Because I lied to you.
And in doing so, I broke the covenant of trust
that is essential between a president and the American people.
I not only failed to tell you the truth,
I also failed to protect the men and women serving bravely in our armed forces.
I failed to stand up for some of our most vulnerable fellow citizens
who have faced acts of prejudice and discrimination.
And I failed to defend the rights and the dignity of Will Tyler,
a brave American hero
serving his country on the surface of Mars at this very moment.
And I failed someone very close to me
because I was afraid to stand up and tell the truth.
I failed because I feared what people would think of me,
and I failed to trust the compassion and judgment of you,
the American people.
I underestimated you.
And for that, I am truly sorry.
I cannot correct my past mistakes,
but I can stop lying to you
right here, right now, and give you the simple truth.
I'm gay,
and I have been since the day I was born.
Reactions to President Wilson's speech
have varied across the political spectrum,
with rallies in every major city.
Some have marched in support of the nation's first gay president,
while vocal counterprotests denounce her as a dangerous influence.
The Wilson Administration followed the president's address to the nation
with an announcement today that she will sign an executive order
to allow gay men and women to openly serve in the military.
She also announced she will bestow a presidential medal of freedom
on Will Tyler
for his extraordinary service to his country on Mars
and for his courageous stand on gay rights.
Well, holy shit!
-About time America came to her senses. -Nice work, Ellen.
I have something to say.
You're a brave man, Will Tyler.
I'm honored… to be your friend.
Thank you, man.
All right, enough of this. Let's start drinking.
I'm sure Kelly'd wanna hear about this. Have you seen her?
She's in the jungle.
Kel, you have no idea what President Wilson just--
Kelly! Kel!
Kel! Hey, hey! Sweetie?
Doc! Get in here!
-Mueller, bring the medkit! -Yes, sir!
Kelly?
Her heart is pumping too fast.
Hang in there, kiddo.
Rover 1, Happy Valley.
Rover 1, Happy Valley. Come in.
Happy Valley, rover 1.
We've had an emergency here.
Kelly's condition has taken a turn for the worst.
What's going on?
The doctor says she has preeclampsia.
We need you back here with the Kurs system, and fast.
We are less than 15 minutes away from the probe site.
We will be back as soon as we can.
Roger.
Looks like one of your old Soyuz ships.
People's Republic of Korea isn't shy about borrowing designs.
What matters is it has a Kurs antenna.
Well, let's get it and go.
Danielle?
What in the hell?
Don't shoot. Don't shoot!