The first crewed mission to Mars, funded by a philanthropist billionaire and the European Space Agency, is approaching the Red Planet after a ten-month journey. On board are a team of elite scientists and astronauts, along with a young psychologist responsible for safeguarding the crew’s mental well-being throughout this historic mission.

But just hours before initiating what was meant to be the most anticipated landing in human history, everything changes. A rival mission—backed by a global technology corporation in partnership with NASA and equipped with a faster, next-generation plasma-propulsion spacecraft—has overtaken them, only to suddenly lose all contact.

What was supposed to be humanity’s first landing on Mars is transformed into an urgent rescue mission. Instead of making history as the first to set foot on the planet, the crew must venture into the unknown to find their missing competitors, where the greatest challenge may not be Mars itself.