Reeling from the events which cost several lives, the remaining astronauts make their way towards Mars itself, but getting there is one thing, landing another altogether. On Earth meanwhile, trouble is brewing for Margot.

So, two astronauts and a cosmonaut dead, the Russian ship entirely disabled and the crew of the Phoenix at odds with their own ground control at Helios. Just another day on a mission fraught with risks and needing absolutely the steadiest circumstances possible. Still, at least things can’t get any trickier, right? Well…

On Phoenix, Ed’s crew are able to break back into their own systems and lock ground control out, giving Ed full effective command of his own ship once more. It is of course too late to do anything to aid Dani and her crew in the rescue of the Russians, so Ed is back on task, figuring that at least if he makes it to Mars first he can wipe away some of the stain against him and his crew. Of course, that might be easier if his right hand man Danny wasn’t carrying quite such a chip on his shoulder, unbeknownst to his commander. Turns out that the ship controls aren’t the only thing that can be hacked by the workaround that granted them control of the Phoenix, and Danny starts torturing himself in all new ways that you sense are not going to be healthy.

On the Sojourner, the Russians and Dani’s crew make do as best they can in their cramped new situation. Baranov is understandably uncomfortable around his former compatriots but Kelly is doing her bit for transatlantic relations as she gets to know Alexei Polotov, the cosmonaut who sent her the plea for help over the radio band. Dani is resigned to being second on Mars, but the game isn’t over just yet.

On Earth, all Margot’s problems are coming back to haunt her. The new Russian Director of Roscosmos, Lenara Catiche, has some demands of the US resources and equipment for her cosmonauts to continue carrying out their missions, and she isn’t asking so much as demanding, making it clear to Margot that she’s still very much on the hook. As if that weren’t bad enough, good old thorough, obsessive Aleida starts looking very closely at the Russian equipment and realises that it’s a little too similar to NASA’s own to be coincidental. When she brings her findings to Margot, it’s just another problem to add to the list – thank goodness her day job isn’t incredibly stressful by default…

Back at Mars, as the two ships make ready to attempt landings, conditions get a lot worse on the surface, meaning that trying for planetfall will get very much riskier. With both ships there, the stakes could not be higher for all parties, and the way in which things resolve may not only surprise, but will definitely cause a whole lot of other problems later down the line.

Verdict: Some fantastic character work as the tension ratchets up both in space and on the ground. Compelling stuff indeed. 9/10

Greg D. Smith