The Last Push

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Astronaut Forrest...

you give us hope.

And your great accomplishment...

will be edged

in the history of mankind.

You're not alone.

People from all over the world

are keeping their eyes on you.

So please, don't lose

your hope and faith.

We'll be praying for you...

and your safe journey home.

What is it that

inspires mankind to take great risk?

Why is it that throughout

history...

humans have been driven to

explore distant uncharted places...

despite the possibility

of no return?

In the case of Europa, the icy,

mysterious moon of Jupiter...

that inspiration came

in the form of photographs.

Photographs that revealed life.

These ghostly images gave the entire

human race unrepentant knowledge...

that life as we know it

is not an isolated event...

reserved merely for Earth.

But rather a miracle that is

pervasive throughout the cosmos.

And for the first time

since the 1970's...

humankind, once again, sought

to set foot on a distant world.

Hey, kids.

Um, I want to know, how do you

go to the bathroom in space?

I'll answer this one. Check

this out. We have a small...

Actually, there is a little bit

of gravity on the ship...

so, so going to the bathroom...

in space is a lot like going

to the bathroom on Earth.

Well, I think the kids would

enjoy how number one works.

Next question.

In the days after

NASA retired the space shuttle program...

and since the abandonment of the

International Space Station...

the world has had to turn

to private enterprise...

when it comes to getting man

back into space.

The most influential name in

space exploration has been...

without a doubt,

Walter Moffitt.

Whales on Europa.

Yes... every time I see these

latest pictures...

man, it gives chills

down my spine.

Which brings me to my next

question... of pictures.

Mm-hm.

We have dozens and dozens of

pictures. Lots of pictures.

NASA is preparing a submersible

rover to dive under the ice.

NASA and its rover...

My name is Gavin Hayden.

Why aren't you wearing

any spacesuits?

The space suits, or EVAs...

are used for extra-vehicular

activities...

so, that would be outside

the ship.

But I suppose they could be

used in an emergency.

About two hours worth

of life support.

Charlie, it takes NASA

a year just to pass gas.

They have quadruple redundancy

in everything they do...

in their engineering chain,

and you name it.

I have respect for NASA,

but by the time their rover...

gets there, our boys

will be on their way home.

To accomplish the 13-year

mission to explore the distant world...

astronauts Nathan Miller and Michael Forrest

are placed into a deep sleep for six years...

as their space craft races

from planet to planet...

before speeding off to Europa.

There they will spend one year

in a state-of-the-art facility...

studying the newly discovered

species of alien giants...

before finally returning home.

My name's Emily. Um, aren't you going

to Venus, 'cause that's the wrong way?

That is actually

a very astute question.

Um, it has to do with the

orbital ellipses of the planets...

and a very concerted effort on the part

of the scientists, as well as ourselves...

to increase the speed of the ship using

not only the earth's gravitational pull...

but Venus as well.

Yeah, so what I think my

colleague is trying to say...

it's all about going fast.

So what we're gonna do is spin

around Venus to pick up speed...

then slingshot

from Venus to Earth.

As we get even more speedage,

we're off to Jupiter.

Faster than ever.

Sounds cool, huh?

Isn't the redundancy exactly

what is needed here for safety?

There are those who criticize you

who say that you rushed this mission.

This is not meant to be

a disclaimer...

but everybody knows how I feel, you

know, that I'm very protective of my men.

Columbus went around the world.

Magellan sailed around the whole planet.

We got guys going to the moon.

They rushed them to the moon.

And that was for a reason.

We need somebody there.

We need somebody to put their

foot in the dust of the moon.

Like many

brave explorers before them...

the two-men crew of Life One...

entrust their lives to their

tiny vessel and to each other...

for a chance to witness

the extraordinary.

It has been called the most dangerous

whale watching expedition in history.

When you see the planet...

what does it look like

outside the window?

It looks like stars.

We have heard that this mission

has cost you personally...

50 billion dollars.

It cost me a lot.

But look, that's what

we're here for.

That's what we're working,

that's the whole deal.

Think about this for a minute.

These boys are travelling

at the speed of a .45 bullet.

They're sound asleep.

They're gonna go around Venus, past

Earth, and then start orbiting Jupiter.

What a miracle.

They'll see the whales

of Europa.

But they'll be seeing it

with their eyes.

It won't be photographs

from NASA.

Your a man who's wealthy enough

to do anything he wants to do.

Why aren't you up there

with those men right now?

Charlie, I've done everything

I've wanted to do... just about.

I'm a bit long in the tooth.

I would'a, could'a, should'a...

but it really isn't about me.

It's about future generations.

Can I ask a question?

How is it that you plan

to spend your free time?

Space pong. We actually

won't have a lot of free time.

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