Meanwhile, in an auditorium filled with young pioneers in red neckties, Viktor Sereda presents a plan for a space journey to the star Alpha Cassiopeia on a spaceship called “Zarya” (short for “Relativistic Annihilation Nuclear Starship”).

He later receives an anonymous note asking, “Would you go on a lifelong journey?” signed, “I would go with him.” After Viktor’s presentation, young pioneer Varvara Kuteyshchikova argues that instead of seeking habitable planets, humanity should focus on preserving endangered species.

The friends then find themselves at the Academy of Sciences, where the academics are awed by Viktor’s knowledge of antimatter and invite him to join their discussion.

Filatov leads a group of foreign journalists on a tour of the Zarya, showing them the command section, common areas, bio-center, and a "sense-catcher" for potential alien communication.

The young crew appears on the front page of Komsomolskaya Pravda, and they travel to Red Square to salute Lenin’s Mausoleum.

Next, the crew sees their former classmate Milka Okorokova, now a grown radio astronomer, who reveals that she sent Viktor the mysterious note years ago.

The costumes for the heroes were made of metallized nylon, high boots were equipped with magnetic suction cups, and the astronauts had a "sense collector" on their chests that translated from any language of the Universe.

[4] The weightlessness scene was shot in 4 stages with the participation of Valery Pavlotos, a design engineer at the Yalta Film Studio.