A seven-man crew of international specialists formed by Commander Andre Vishniac; engineer Luca Baglioni; doctor Jenny Johnson; astrobiologist Fidel Rodrigo; pilot Susana Sánchez; geologist Herbert Sagan; and pilot Lowell, travels to Mars to explore the planet. On arrival, Lowell stays in orbit on the mother ship while the crew lands on Mars. However, their landing craft crashes on the planet and Vishniac breaks his neck. They learn they are stranded on Mars while Lowell returns to Earth to bring a rescue team. Meanwhile, Luca calculates the oxygen, water, and supplies and concludes that there are enough for only two of them to survive the twenty-six months before an eventual rescue team reaches Mars. It's decided that Luca (engineer) and Jenny (doctor) should be the ones to stay in the spacecraft due to their specialties, while Susan, Rodrigo, and Sagan set out to explore the planet before their inevitable death. But while there is life, there is hope.