Earth.
A conference room in the White House, United States.
Morton stood rooted to the spot, clearly still reeling from the "earth-shattering" news he had just heard.
"The... the Return Capsule is in trouble?"
His expression twisted as he seized the staff member before him by the collar and roared, "What exactly happened?!"
Confronted with Morton's contorted face, the staff member stammered out an explanation.
"D-Director Morton, according to Houston, it seems the engine's hydraulic system exceeded its preset limits during ignition, so the Mars Module's Main Control Computer automatically shut down the engine according to its programmed procedures."
Morton's expression abruptly froze.
This...
Even though he knew nothing about the Mars Return Capsule, he knew this would not be an easy problem to solve.
"Can it be fixed?" Morton took several deep breaths to steady himself.
The staff member fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Houston says there's virtually no chance of repairing it remotely."
As though afraid Morton would not believe him, the staff member added, "Those were Professor Chris's exact words."
Morton stared blankly at the staff member before him.
A long moment passed.
He slowly released his grip, turned around, and returned to his seat, utterly dejected.
The atmosphere in the conference room grew even more oppressive.
After several dozen seconds of silence, Albert, seated at the head of the table, gave a quiet cough, breaking the deathly stillness.
"Everyone, we need to change the subject of our discussion."
"Should the United States launch a mission to rescue the three astronauts?"
The instant he finished speaking, everyone at the table began breathing a little faster.
Everyone attending the meeting looked helplessly at one another, hoping someone would be the first to speak.
When no response came, Albert frowned slightly