[rumbling]
Houston, Atlas. Initiating descent.
T-minus seven minutes to touchdown.
[Emma] Atlas crew, prepare for atmospheric entry.
[rumbling]
[rattling]
[thud]
[rumbling intensifies]
-[thud] -[alarm sounding]
[crackling]
[shouts indistinctly]
-[rattling] -[crackling]
[alarm continues]
[shouts indistinctly]
Commander!
[crew screams]
[gasps]
[light snoring]
Time to wake up.
[Matt grunts]
[kiss]
[Matt grunts]
-[Alexis] Wake up, wake up, wake up! -[Isaac] Hey.
[Alexis] You were supposed to remind me to set my alarm.
-What time is it? -After eight. Get dressed.
I can hear my dad downstairs. He'll kill us both if he finds you here.
Your dad doesn't know you and I got back together?
No, and he's still really on edge
because we haven't got my test results back,
so we should definitely tell him about us on the day my mom's landing on Mars.
[Matt] Lex, breakfast!
Oh, breakfast sounds good.
[sighs] Very funny. Get dressed.
[Alexis] Come on. I can sneak you out this way.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I know another way out. Come on.
-Wait up a second. -Isaac...
Just one second. I wanna show you something.
[Matt] Lex!
I'll be right down.
-What? -Remember the night you spent in my truck?
Took a picture while you were sleeping.
-Okay, that's creepy. -Not of you.
Check it out.
See how one of them kinda looks redder than the rest?
That's Mars?
I know you gotta watch the landing with your dad.
I just... wish I could be there with you.
Me too.
-Send me that photo? -Already did.
-I'll be as quiet as a mouse. -[laughs]
Okay... [chuckles]
...I know you're into eating a big meal to settle nerves, but, Dad,
this is ridiculous.
Here's what I'm thinking. We invite a bunch of people over.
Mel, Cass, your entire soccer team...
We let them distract us before we go to NASA for the landing.
Keep our minds off of what's about to happen.
Have you not looked out front?
No. Why?
I just don't think this is the best place
to take our mind off of what's about to happen.
Is there a journalist out there?
[Matt sighs] NASA told them our house was off-limits.
[Alexis] Yeah, well...
[reporters all shouting]
And I thought the Pegasus landing was intense.
Nope.
What?
You're not gonna spend the next ten hours with cameras in your face
asking about nightmare scenarios that will never happen.
What are you saying?
You wanna get out of here?
[Emma] Let's go over this one last time.
Misha, Kwesi, Lu, you'll batten down the hatches in here
while Ram and I complete the checklist upstairs.
I want everyone suited up by 19:30,
at which point we'll ascend to the command module,
and Ram will initiate the landing sequence.
Right. If you've never experienced a landing before--
You're obviously talking about me. You can just say "Kwesi."
Well, none of us have landed on Mars before, my friend.
Yeah.
We'll be entering the atmosphere
at approximately 20,000 kilometers per hour,
and we'll have less than seven minutes to slow down.
Ideally to zero kilometers per hour, Kwesi.
Right. We're gonna be pulling 8 Gs,
and our ship will be engulfed in fire.
For all intents and purposes, we will be riding inside a comet,
and when our retro thrusters engage,
it will feel like an explosion has gone off inside the rocket.
[rumbling]
-[rattling] -[screams]
-Commander! -[alarm sounds]
We'll be landing here,
in Utopia Basin.
Pegasus will be waiting for us 300 meters to the east.
Assuming Pegasus didn't burn up into a million pieces.
Pegasus will be exactly where it's supposed to be.
Per the international agreement, we'll remain on board
while Lu touches down
and transmits her photograph back to Earth.
Yeah.
Someone's about to become more famous than Neil Armstrong.
[Kwesi] Can I say one thing?
Ten hours from now,
we are going to be standing on Mars.
[uplifting music playing]
They're here.
You ready to make our great escape?
Let's do this.
[truck horn honking]
-[seat belt clicks] -You know, your mom's a real badass.
I know. [chuckles]
Where are we going?
To see a friend.
[car doors close]
-[Matt] Thanks again for having us out. -[Travis] Not a problem.
Oh. And that's for you, Matt.
You don't think I'm seriously gonna wear this?
Wear the hat!
I'm definitely with Cass on this one.
-[Travis] Yeah. -[Matt sighs]
[laughs]
Y'all ready to do some riding?
Hey.
So, I never thanked you for being so cool
and not telling my dad when I spent the night with Isaac.
I mean, we still haven't gotten my results back from the CCM test, and--
Don't do that, okay?
-What? -Use your health to...
What?
Well, you've been keeping this secret from your father for two weeks,
and now I'm an accomplice to that.
An accomplice? Really, Mel?
You two okay back there?
[Alexis] Yeah, we're good.
You are go to cease centrifugal arm rotation.
Copy that.
Let's get this ship ready for landing.
[switches clicking]
[whirring]
Confirming rotation is ceased and all systems are nominal.
Commence retraction of Zvezda, Unity, and Zarya on my mark.
Three, two, one.
[beeping]
Agh. Come on.
What?
What is it?
-We've got an issue with the solar panels. -Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.
Of course I am.
But you should see your face right now.
You think that's funny?
[sighs]
Come on, Emma, I was just lightening the mood.
What is going on?
Can we get back to the checklist, please?
Is this about what happened during our spacewalk?
When I said how I feel?
Ram.
Because if I crossed a line, then I'm really, really sorry.
But I thought we might be about to die.
We still might.
What?
Okay, you need to tell me what's going on.
And it's not a matter of if you crossed a line,
you did cross a line.
I'm your commander.
-I have a responsibility. -I know you're my commander.
-And you can't compromise that by-- -I wasn't compromising anything.
Whatever you feel for me, I do not feel.
Understood, Commander.
Ram...
Like you said, we've got a checklist to complete.
Excuse, uh, naive question,
but why... why are we saving these plants?
They're dead. What's the use?
Uh, the organic material can be repurposed to build an even better garden on Mars.
[Misha] Oh.
If only everything lost on this journey could come back, huh?
[chuckles]
You know this one? [clears throat]
So, blind man walks into bar,
picks up his seeing-eye dog, starts spinning it.
Barman says, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing. Just looking around."
[both laughing]
[laughs]
-Misha. -Yeah?
It occurs to me, I never said I was sorry.
Sorry for what?
Well, it must be terrifying to lose your vision.
Kwesi--
No, when a piece of my heel floated away, I got scared, and that was just my foot.
But Ram assured me that it was natural.
No, more than that. Necessary.
To survive space, our bodies must adapt.
So, perhaps losing your vision isn't such a bad thing.
Oh, believe me, Kwesi, it's, uh, it's bad.
Or perhaps...
...you're ahead of the curve.
[Misha] Ahead of the c... Mmm...
You're saying what? That we all will go blind in space?
I'm saying we will learn to see in a different way.
Uh, Kwesi?
I was thinking, before we begin to descend,
I hoped you might say a few words?
Are you asking him to... to pray? What?
Lu, since when are you religious?
No. No, I'm not. I'm just, uh...
Okay.
I'm going blind,
Lu finds God...
Lu, I would be honored.
We just received an incoming from the CNSA.
Lu, they, uh, sent instructions for your photo.
[chuckles] Let me guess.
I'm to stand proudly and, uh...
...salute the flag.
Yeah, there's, uh, something else.
They want you to keep your reflective visor down.
What?
That doesn't make any sense.
It would if you grew up where we did.
[in Mandarin] I do not exist.
I exist only...
if the motherland exists.
[in English] Thank you for the update, Commander.
I'm gonna go...
consult the instructions.
Lu, this might not be my place, but...
you have some serious leverage here.
Leverage?
This is gonna be...
the most famous, most iconic image ever.
If it were me, I'd say, "You want your photo op?
Then I want something in return."
What?
You tell me.
I mean, you can name your terms.
So, what do you want?
I want Mei to be reinstated...
...in Mission Control.
[Lu chuckles]
[Travis] Oh. And before we forget,
y'all make sure to save the date on September first.
-Are you serious? -You're getting married?
And everyone's invited.
-Congratulations. -We'll be there.
[Travis laughs]
I do have to question your taste a little, Veronica...
[laughter]
...but I guess we're all fools in love.
Hey, a toast.
To being in love.
[all] To being in love.
[soft melody playing]
[Matt] You okay?
[Melissa] Yeah, sure.
How you doing?
[Matt] Today was a nice distraction.
[Melissa chuckles]
[Melissa] They're beautiful, aren't they?
Something going on with you and Lex?
No.
See, eight months ago,
I wouldn't even have known when you were lying.
[chuckles] Yeah. It...
It's nothing you need to worry about.
-Especially today of all days. -So there is something going on.
Well, anyways, this is something you should be asking Lex about.
I'm asking you.
What is it?
Uh...
A couple of weeks ago, when you were...
pulling an all-nighter at NASA, I was looking after Lex, and...
-she didn't come home that night. -What?
She spent the night with Isaac.
-What do you mean? -She came back the next morning.
-And you didn't tell me? -I should have.
What the hell were you thinking?
-You just let her spend the night? -I just didn't think that...
-No... -She's 15 years old.
-It was a tough day for her. -You let her walk out the door?
Jesus Christ, I'm trusting you to hold the fort when I'm not there.
-We're supposed to be a team. -We're not a team. I'm not your...
Look, I, uh...
I'm sorry.
It's just...
this situation has, um...
It's become a little complicated for me.
Complicated? How?
[Melissa sighs]
You really can't see it, can you, Matt?
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
-What is it? -It's the hospital.
I'll go get Lex.
Hello.
Mind if I join you?
No, of course not.
Is everything all right between you and Emma?
Everything's fine.
Just that you and she came up here together,
and then she came down alone.
Kwesi, I've gotta--
Of course, if anything happened between you, it's none of my business.
-Nothing has happened between-- -Except it really is my business
because we're about to land on Mars,
and my two pilots aren't speaking to one another.
Believe me, Emma would prefer if we...
Ram,
how many times have we almost died on this mission?
And we haven't done anything nearly as dangerous
as what we're about to do.
And Emma's family is gonna watch it play out in real time.
On a day like today, whatever Emma may feel for you--
Emma feels nothing for me.
She made it very clear that my feelings only compromise her command.
Now, if you don't mind, Kwesi, please can we just drop it?
-I've got work to do. -Ram.
What?
If Emma felt nothing for you,
she wouldn't feel compromised right now.
Look, I...
I don't pretend to know in what manner Emma loves you,
only that she does.
As she loves us all, but...
just imagine what a burden that is for her today.
[tablet chimes]
Is that a message from your daughter?
Yeah.
-Hey. -Hmm?
Misha, let's go check on Kwesi and Ram.
[Misha] Yeah, just a second.
-Misha! -Okay.
-[tablet chimes] -[Alexis's voice] Hey, Mom.
I know you have a million things going on today,
but the hospital just called,
and I know you'd wanna know.
I don't have it, Mom.
[exhales]
The test was negative.
I don't carry the gene.
[sobs]
You should see Dad right now.
It's like a million pounds came off of his shoulders.
We're gonna head off to NASA now.
They set up a spot where we could watch from Mission Control.
So...
I guess this is the last time I'll talk to you before you land.
And I know it's... it's gonna go great.
I just...
I just want you to know
I love you.
And no matter what happens, I'm...
-I'm so proud you're my mom. -[chuckles]
Okay. Bye.
[tablet chimes]
[sobs]
Hold her so close.
Tell her I love her so much.
[Matt] You tell her yourself after you land.
If we land.
Emma...
[deep breath]
When Ram and I did our spacewalk...
...ice was...
...flying all around.
What if some of it struck the heat shield?
They ran tests. Everything checked out.
Everything checked out on Columbia before it--
Come on. Don't think like that.
We drilled a goddamn hole in the ship.
We're landing on Mars with a hole in the ship.
And it was my decision.
Your crew wanted to land.
It was my call.
What if something happens to them?
What if something happens to us?
And you and Lex have to be there for...
If Lex has to see that happen.
Then I'll be with her when it does.
I love you, Matt.
What happened to "shithead"?
Not this time.
[Matt] I love you, Emma.
[chatter]
[woman] Jack, how do you feel about today's Mars landing?
You know, as a kid, you dream about a day like this.
Yeah, well, next time maybe...
[in Mandarin] Forgive the interruption.
We just received a message from Mission Specialist Wang.
She has a request.
Tell her to take the photograph as instructed,
and we will consider her request.
Are we really considering it?
[in English] Matt.
[Matt] It's a little busy out there.
Something happening today?
I have your spot ready and waiting for you.
If I'm honest,
it probably should have been yours the moment you came back to work.
Is that an apology, Darlene?
Absolutely not.
Sounded like an apology.
Not an apology.
You know, at this point, all any of us can do is watch, so...
I'm gonna sit here and watch with Lex,
but I'll be ready to go in the morning, if that sounds good?
It does.
You've done a hell of a job, Flight.
Thank you, Matt.
Fred.
Matt.
[speaking Russian]
[in English] Excuse me.
You are Kwesi's mother, yes?
-My name is Natalya. I'm, uh-- -Misha's daughter.
I see the resemblance.
My son tells me such wonderful things about your father.
You must be so proud of him.
You must be proud of Kwesi.
Oh.
I wish my husband was alive to see who our son has become.
Kwesi is a good man.
And a wonderful puppeteer.
[Natalya chuckles]
Lei Lei.
[in Mandarin] What are you reading?
[sighs]
Just a story.
What is it about?
Previous missions, including satellites and rovers.
There have been over 40 attempted landings on Mars.
Twenty-eight of them failed.
[melancholy music playing]
[in English] Hey!
Your dad told me the good news.
I'm so happy for you.
[exhales] Yeah.
-You okay? -Yeah.
-What is it? -No, it's...
It's just...
I really thought I had it.
Oh, nena, come here.
[Melissa] Mmm.
I'm so sorry, Mel.
About what?
For making you an accomplice.
And after everything you've done for me.
[sighs]
Look, I am nothing...
...but grateful...
...to be a part of your life.
And I'm always here for you. You know that, right?
Besides, I can tell you really like Isaac.
I love him.
Dad.
I'm so sorry I kept this from you.
So you're in love, huh?
He loves me too.
Well, then...
I guess he should probably be here, don't you think?
[laughs] Thank you.
-I'm gonna go call him. -All right.
Gotta figure I scored some serious dad points there, huh?
Mmm. Yeah, serious mega points.
Look, um...
-Earlier when I told you how I feel, I-- -Hey.
Mel, come on.
You don't need to say that. How you feel is how you feel.
So how are you holding up?
I'm good. Fine.
You don't have to do that around me.
There are 42 steps to this landing sequence,
and every single one needs to go right.
They will.
When that clock strikes zero, I'm either gonna hear her voice or...
You will.
[zipper zips]
Little tighter, please.
Yeah, that's good.
Any news on the reinstatement of Mei?
Well, they said they will think about it.
Yeah.
Doesn't sound very promising.
No, it doesn't.
It means no.
Well,
I can't see your face, but let me guess.
You're not crying.
Lulochka...
people who don't know you think you are cold.
I know...
you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.
Now, let me tell you something. It took me almost 60 years to learn.
Motherland is just an idea.
Borders don't exist.
The only thing that matters is the people you love.
Whatever you owe them, you have already paid.
And if they're not proud of who you really are, Lu,
they're just stupid fools.
[sighs]
[sniffles]
[exhales]
[in Mandarin] Kwesi was right. You have adapted more than any of us.
[in English] Kwesi what?
I said Kwesi is right.
You have adapted better than any of us.
I am ahead of the curve. I am...
Superblind!
[laughing, sobs]
I can't stop crying.
Shh.
-[Lu sobs] -You know, I can see.
[Misha] Mmm.
Not like you, just...
just patches of color and light.
It's... it's like an out-of-focus painting.
Very scary...
...and also very beautiful.
But... [chuckles]
You think I'm... I'm really ahead of the curve?
I think you might be the first true Martian.
[Misha] Mmm.
[exhales]
[Emma sighs]
Wouldn't make a very good surgeon, would I?
Listen, um...
-...what I said earlier-- -You don't have to.
-I didn't mean-- -There's nothing to apologize for, Emma.
Hey...
We're about to make our descent,
and I don't want this distance between us.
Then stop acting like you're fine.
Emma, I know you're scared, and I know you well enough to know why,
but our lives are not your responsibility.
Yes, they are.
It's my job to get you to Mars.
We got each other here.
Emma, I hope we make it down alive,
and I hope Pegasus is waiting for us when we land,
but whatever happens,
in about an hour the entire world is gonna stop.
Billions of people
are gonna stop what they're doing and look up at the sky,
and that is something I'm willing to die for.
We all are.
Our deaths are not your burden to carry. Do you understand?
Good.
'Cause you're about to have one of the greatest moments of your life,
and you deserve to enjoy it.
[Kwesi] Hello.
I, um...
I was just wondering how my two pilots were feeling
about our upcoming descent.
Feeling good.
How about you?
Absolutely terrified.
[Kwesi and Emma chuckle]
[Kwesi] Uh, well, um...
Lu asked if I could say a prayer before we go up.
Lu asked for that?
[Misha] Prayer? Who said prayer?
There is no prayer
without Saint Misha, okay?
[Ram chuckles]
[Kwesi] Lord God...
...we thank you for bringing the five of us together...
...and we humbly ask that you deliver us safely home.
Carry us now through this crucible of fire...
...so that we may show the world
that there is a better world,
a world beyond division...
...and confusion...
...and fear.
Let us discover a world beyond fear.
Amen.
[crew] Amen.
Ground was kind enough to line up about 19 satellites
so that we could send our families some last words before we land.
Can you please not call them last words, Commander?
[Misha clears throat]
[computer chimes]
[Emma] Houston, this is Atlas.
By the time you get this, we'll be starting our descent.
Sir.
I just wanna thank you for inviting me.
I... I can't tell you how much it means.
We're ready for you.
[tense music playing]
Is it about to start?
They're 20 minutes ahead of us,
and the landing sequence takes seven minutes,
so when that clock hits 27...
Mom's landing begins.
[Emma] Houston, this is Atlas.
By the time you get this, we'll be starting our descent.
[rumbling]
[Emma] We know this can be a little nerve-racking,
so we thought we'd send a few words to our families.
To Matt, Lex,
I love you.
I'm so proud of you.
And I don't want you worrying down there,
because as a couple of very smart people once told me,
we're gonna be okay.
[in Hebrew] Thank you, Mother, for teaching me
to believe in impossible things.
And for giving me the faith
that this journey requires.
[rumbling]
[rumbling intensifies]
[Misha in Russian] My beloved Andrei,
Sasha, and Donka,
I hope you are proud of your grandfather,
but even prouder of your mom.
She is a hero.
She is my hero.
Bye.
[rumbling intensifies]
[Lu in Mandarin] Lei Lei...
I want you to know,
I love what I do.
My wish for you
is that you find something that makes you this happy.
Mama loves you and misses you every day.
[rumbling intensifies]
[in Hindi] We made it to Mars, Rohit.
[tense music continues]
[music intensifies]
[rumbling intensifies]
[rumbling subsides]
Everyone okay?
Aye, Commander.
[computer chimes]
[Emma] Houston,
Atlas.
Touchdown confirmed.
[soft melody playing]
[panting]
[laughing]
Anyone wanna go again?
[Ram laughing]
Yeah!
[chuckles]
[sobs]
[speaking Hebrew]
[laughing, crying]
[laughing]
[thud]
[ethereal music playing]
Please tell me that is what I think that is.
Yes.
[ethereal music continues]
What was it Aldrin said when he first saw the Moon?
[Kwesi] "Magnificent desolation."
[Ram] You're really gonna grow a garden here?
Oh, more than that.
We are going to prove
that life has grown here before.
Thank you.
[ethereal music continues]
[music intensifies]
[computer chiming]
It's okay.
-Dad... -It's gonna be okay.
[chatter]
[computer chimes]
[Emma] Houston,
Atlas.
-Touchdown confirmed. -[gasps]
[cheering]
[uplifting music playing]
We have an incoming image.
[uplifting music playing]