Only during the course of the trip does it emerge that Commander Rank has recently separated from his wife and is avoiding any personal contact with her.
Shortly after landing on Mars, astronaut Lia learns that her fiancé had a fatal accident on an icy road.
The two astronauts Lia Poirier and Bill Malone start a rescue mission with the replacement vehicle and eventually find their injured crew members.
Sergei points to an opposite rock face with a fluorescent appearance, which has its origins in bioorganisms.
At the end of the mission, after a year and a half stay on Mars, the crew learned from ground control that there would not be enough fuel and supplies for the five astronauts to fly back.
The tragic loss of a crew member turns out to be a stroke of luck for the remaining crew: by recalculating fuel consumption and supplies, ground control gives the green light for a safe return to the home planet Earth.