Original subtitles

- Sun like ours, planet Ariel with its atmosphere.

It's a perfectly balanced little solar system.

- If we go into orbit,

what does that do to your sense of symmetry, Victor?

- Oh, if we go to orbit I shan't care about symmetry.

- Providing, of course, that planet proves

to be as well-endowed as computer predicts.

- Oh, yeah.

Main mission.

Come in, Alan.

- Planet Ariel's atmosphere

looks like pea soup from up here.

- It is Alan.

The oxygen content is more than four times that of Earth.

- You should monitor eco-surface temperatures carefully

as you enter the atmosphere.

- Heat shields at maximum.

Standby to fire your retros in 30 seconds.

- Computer's flight plan for their descent

to the planet's surface.

- No problems?

- No problems.

- All right, Paul, put it through

to the on-board computer, would you?

- I have Scalla contact.

Alien object approaching.

Alien object closing fast.

It's homing on me.

It's some kind of missile.

Can't shake it off.

- Alan, Alan.

- We're alive, Commander.

It hasn't gone off.

It's just attached itself.

- Eagle two and Eagle seven, return to base.

Paul, evacuate all personnel from launchpad one.

Crash units standby.

- Approaching now for final descent.

- All right, Alan, we won't take any chances.

We'll bring you in an automatic.

Eagle seven stand clear.

Alan, Add one is sealed off.

As soon as you land, skip all touchdown procedures

and get clear as quickly as you can.

- Fine, Commander, so far it hasn't made a move.

- Well, my guess is it won't,

at least not until you bring it home.

All right, Paul, bring 'em in.

- Victor, what do you get on the scanners?

- Nothing, can't get any readings at all.

- Density?

Radiation?

- And the object resists

any remote analysis technique we have.

- We'll have to bring it in.

An intelligent civilization with an atmosphere

similar to earth's sees earth man approaching

and tries to prevent him.

So by creating a diversion and a continuing mystery,

he does just that.

Plausible?

- Yes, but why?

- Well, maybe to gain time to find out more about us.

- Prevent us from finding out anything about them.

- Let the professor prod it about as much as he likes.

Don't let's waste any more time

in getting back to that planet.

- We go into orbit around that Sun,

we'll have all the time we need.

- Helena, we don't know if we're going into orbit

any more than we know whether this thing

is friendly or hostile.

And even if it is some kind of a, an invitation card

I think we've got to play this step by step.

Anything so far, Victor?

- Oh, not much I'm afraid.

Weight 428, diameter .86 of a meter, temperature ambient,

radiation zero, composition still unknown.

- Inert?

- Oh, totally.

- Gas!

Helena, prepare to receive casualties.

Victor, analyze that gas sooner than possible.

Paul, red alert.

Evacuate the technical section, seal it off,

then open its airlocks to the surface.

Come on.

Paul?

- Technical area sealed off and ventilated.

- Good, Kano, can computer assess

the total capacity of that object?

- At the present rate of expansion, Commander,

not less than infinite.

- The pressure in the technical area was by 80

before we could activate the airlocks.

It couldn't get out fast enough.

- Diameter less than a meter, weight 428.

That's impossible.

- So, it's made its move.

- Commander, we're being invaded.

- John, John, it's air.

That thing's brought us air.

- Red sunrise, blue sky.

An atmosphere, we've got an atmosphere.

- Gravity is increasing, Paul.

By the time we go into orbit,

it will be almost the same as Earth's.

- Kano, has computer analyzed my data yet?

Computer's telling us nice stories today.

- Computer never tells...

- Tells stories.

John, so far so good.

Of course, I can only test for elements

that we know and can identify.

There may be some things

that our instruments don't register.

- What about ultraviolet?

That was your main concern.

- The atmosphere begins to thin off rapidly at 20,000.

Now on earth, that would hardly be enough

to act as a filter, but here,

I think we're gonna be all right.

- But the final test is to breathe it, right?

- And live in it.

- Attention, everyone.

Dr. Russell is satisfied as far as she can tell

from the processed data that the atmosphere out there

is breathable and safe.

Now what I'd like now are two volunteers

to go out there and make sure.

Sandra, Paul.

Now I want you to remember

that this is a final stage of a scientific program.

It's not a joyride.

However, Kano, along with everything else,

I'd like you to run a constant check on their joy levels.

- Confirm airlock pressure equalized with atmosphere.

- Confirmed, Paul, you're clear to move out now.

You are now breathing more air than oxygen

and the pressures inside and outside your suits are equal.

How do you feel?

- I feel fine.

- My pulse rate is increasing.

- Yes, I'm monitoring that.

Chalk that up to the excitement.

- Smells very good.

Like what?

- Like... like country air.

- Oh, we're gonna have to worry about sitting in drafts.

- Well, we've simply exchanged

one set of problems for another.

- I'm having trouble calculating our seasonal variations,

but just instinctively I'd say it was spring.

- Away from Alpha,

away from sensors, monitors and computers.

We have done the longest tour of duty ever.

We deserve a break.

- Not exactly home.

I am happy with anything

that gets me out of Alpha.

- It makes you look at things in a different light.

- Sunlight?

- No, more than that.

If this is the end of one life,

we have to start to build a new one,

to live like human beings again.

- Do you know which earthly sound I miss most

in the silence of space?

- Birdsong?

In there, cooped up, there are thoughts

we just can't allow ourselves to think.

- If we go into orbit,

this the old moon could become our new earth.

We could settle and build outside Alpha,

we could fertilize the lunar dust and raise crops.

- All we need is a rainfall.

- Oh, you make that.

The air here's rotten with humidity.

All we've gonna do is to start the cycle.

Sowing cloud-forming crystals in the sky.

- Victor, it took 25 years to reclaim the Sahara Desert.

Right out there is a planet that already supports

some kind of civilization.

I think our priority has to be to establish whether it can

or will support us.

- Ho, tomorrow we'll build a swimming pool.

- Tomorrow we'll build a new Alpha.

- The cycle's begun.

The Sea of Tranquility will become a genuine sea.

All those craters will fill up and become circular lakes.

Oh, John, it's gonna be a beautiful new world.

- Wait a minute.

How long will it take?

- How hard will it rain?

- Victor, those circular lakes will look wonderful,

but Alpha is built in a crater.

And if it rains as hard as you hope it will,

right at the bottom of one of those lakes

will be Moonbase Alpha.

This expedition will be under

the overall command of Dr. Russell.

Our brief is straightforward.

We've been combing the universe searching for a new earth.

And now suddenly, thanks to our mysterious friends

on the planet Ariel, we found it right here

under our very noses.

Now the job ahead for these people

is to find the best place in which to live

so that we may begin our new life, our new future.

I'd like you to join me now in wishing them good luck.

- Yes.

- Good luck.

Come back soon.

- Good luck.

- Nice, heavy rain cloud forming over the Taurus Mountains.

- Fine, not much evidence of rainfall.

How you feeling back there?

- Air sick, that's why I opted for the space program.

- And this data transmitter's beginning to act

like a primitive crystal set.

- Computer can't read much of this data.

There's too much interference.

- We've got all the filters in.

It's the best we can get.

- They must be flying into an electric storm or something.

An atmosphere's a mixed blessing.

- Not for me, it isn't.

- Well, communications are bad, Commander.

We're back to the static and crackle of earth.

- Now we're really flying.

Hello, Alpha, this is Eagle Two Eight,

I'm getting something like turbulence on the run

up to the Taurus Mountains.

I'm going over the top.

- Come in, Eagle 28.

We're not receiving you, 28.

But if you can hear me, Alan,

your orders are to return to base immediately.

- Alpha, we're in trouble.

Come in, this is Eagle Two Eight.

Do you read me?

- Keep trying.

Eagle Two Eight, come in Eagle Two Eight.

I want their exact position.

- We're losing power.

Main boosters. - Main boosters.

Malfunction.

- Back up power. - Back up power.

Malfunction.

- All systems out.

Crash positions.

Eagle 28, come in, Eagle 28.

Eagle 28, come in.

Eagle 28, do you copy?

Eagle 28, come in, come in, Eagle 28.

Eagle 28 come in.

- All contact lost with onboard computer.

- Eagle 28, come in, Eagle 28.

Eagle 28, do you copy, come in.

Eagle 28, come in.

- Kano, I want every Eagle fueled and ready for liftoff.

I want photographs, every inch within a radius

of 500 miles of their last position.

Victor, divide the sector into 28 zones.

Mathias?

- Yes, Commander?

- Load Eagle one with medical supplies and rescue equipment.

You're coming with me.

- Zone nine to pad one, Eagle Twelve to pad three,

Eagle Two Four to pad five.

Eagle One Nine to pad one.

Liftoff Eagle Twelve.

Elevator locked in pad four.

Clear to go Eagle One Four.

- One Four to main mission, we have ignition and liftoff.

- Main mission to Eagle fleet, wind is southwesterly

at two one zero and falling to strength three.

Dust is still a problem over the search area,

but good luck.

- No, no, let's not move her yet.

She has severe concussion.

With concussion you can never tell.

If there are no complications, she'll be all right.

- Every transistor, every condenser,

not one of them isn't blown.

- The lightning, we must have blown out

every circuit in the ship.

- That means we're totally dependent on Alpha to find us.

Paul, why don't you give Alan a hand getting us some air.

She'll be all right.

- Look, we got enough food to last us a fortnight.

There's about 30 gallons of drinkable water in the tanks.

And with 27 serviceable Eagles back at the base,

I'll lay you even money finding us is a piece of cake.

Come on then.

- We're directly over the last point of radio contact.

- Not much of a new world, is it?

Not much of a place to be lost in.

Doctor?

- Dust!

- Are you all right? - Yeah.

- How's Sandra? - Okay.

- Some camouflage, eh?

- They're never gonna see us here.

- Hey, we're here.

We're here, come back.

Come back.

- News?

- They've run out of daylight.

The last Eagle is returning to base.

- Have them refueled immediately.

- Hey, John, it's looking promising.

The moon's curving in nicely towards an orbital station

around our new sun.

Gravitational influence continues to increase

to a high point which we'll reach eight days from now.

- With a 50/50 chance of going into orbit, right?

- Oh, it's...

- And if we don't go into orbit,

conditions on that surface will deteriorate rapidly.

Also right.

- Hey, how many tons does a man gotta shift

before he gets some breakfast around here?

- Protasic acid, tanks have smashed,

and it's eaten it's way into everything,

food, medical supplies, and the water.

- Why was it stored anywhere near the food?

- It wasn't.

The impact must have carried it into the cargo section

along with the main motor.

We're probably lucky it didn't explode right away.

- Lucky?

- Come on, Alan, take it easy.

We still got survival rations.

- Oh, yeah, and about half a drop

of uncontaminated water, great.

It's 120 degrees in the shade out there.

What's that gonna do to Sandra with a high fever?

She needs all the water she can get.

- Right, and you make sure the next time they fly over

they can see us, okay?

- Let's get this gear outside.

We've got to start making some kind of marker.

- Eagle 15 is grounded, Commander.

- Grounded?

- Apparent seizure of the lateral stabilizers.

So far five Eagles have reported similar faults.

- Now look, Kano, we cannot afford faults.

We spent months drifting through space,

and those technicians have nothing to do

but sit on their backsides.

Now I need every Eagle I can get, what happens?

Half of them go lame.

Get those technicians moving, Kano,

get them moving!

No Eagle is grounded until I say so, now go on!

- John, they're breaking their necks

in the technical section.

- So they should.

- Listen, you've got to face the possibility

we may not find them at all.

- We've got to find them, Victor, we've got to find them.

- She'll die out here.

120 degrees by day and freezing by night.

- Well, you rooted pretty hard for the crazy idea

of settling out here instead of going down

to the planet Ariel.

- No one reckoned on you flying into a cloud bank

for your kicks.

- Come on, let's save our energy.

- Make that three.

- No, Paul and I'll share one.

- If we don't survive, Sandra won't make it.

- There must be something we can do.

- Like walk?

- Mind liftoff, Commander.

No systems malfunction indicated.

- Kano, stop him.

For heaven's sake, stop him.

Bring him back!

- Does anything function on this base?

Well?

- Something we don't know about in the atmosphere,

coupled with incessant flying through fine particles

of moon dust caused very rapid corrosion.

Your control systems just seized.

- Now, Victor, you say every Eagle is affected.

- Yes, but we found that parts coated

with a graphite compound won't corrode.

- How long will it take to strip down one Eagle

and graphite every exposed surface?

- Technical estimate three days.

They've started already.

- They'll have to do it in two.

And I don't whether this is friend or foe,

but let's get it out of here, all right?

- Paul.

- You're getting better.

You're going to be all right.

- I thought we had found a home.

- We will, we will.

- But... - Shh, shh.

I'll find you some more to drink.

Here.

- Has it rained?

- Yes, it rained.

- Paul?

- Shh.

- Sandra?

Where's Paul?

- Gone to fetch water.

- Paul!

Paul!

Paul!

- Paul said it had rained.

- He did?

Oh, yes.

- Was it much?

- No, not really.

Just more of a promise of things to come.

- Home, the new city of Alpha.

You'll be cooler up here when the sun's up.

It gets whatever breeze is going.

- Thank you, Paul, but I...

- We found our home.

We're the first earthmen.

This is our garden of Eden.

- To begin the human race all over again.

It's a nice thought, Paul.

- Hey, you're a regular pioneer.

Where'd you get the steam to be up all night?

Breakfast?

- What is it?

- Manna, food from heaven.

Or perhaps from the people on the planet Ariel,

if you prefer.

- Wait a minute, where did it come from?

- Over there under the rocks.

It's growing like mushrooms.

- Well, we have no way of analyzing, of testing it.

We can't eat it until...

- But I've already tested it.

- You've eaten it?

Sandra?

- Not yet, we were waiting until you joined us.

The change in Sandra's condition is borne of hope.

Look, man shall not live by hope alone.

- Paul, we have to be careful.

- Look, it doesn't seem to have done him any harm.

I mean, if put this all together overnight,

he must have got the strength from somewhere.

- The way I see it is it's no accident

that the moment I lie down to die,

this stuff literally appears in front of my nose.

Look, it could be months before they find us out here.

Every time we clear a signal area,

the dust covers it up again.

Maybe we'll never even see another Eagle.

Yesterday we were dying without hope.

Today we not only have hope, but sustenance, as well.

- Hey, I say don't knock it, Doc.

- There's no alternative.

We either eat it or die.

- Look, let's stick to the ration cubes for breakfast

while I do what tests I can.

Then if it's all right, and you're still all right,

we'll all try it.

- How long will that take?

- Lunch time.

- Hey, just in case it is okay, I'm going mushroom hunting.

- Hey, John, you want to look at that much,

you should have left it in the technical section.

- You don't have to tell me, Victor,

that phony cheerfulness tells me.

We're not going into orbit, right?

- Ah, well, no.

No, we should have gone to the planet after all.

- Somehow I don't think I like the people.

- They gave us air.

- Right, which will turn into an icecap the moment we pass

beyond the warmth of Ariel's sun.

And Alpha will be crushed to death.

What's happening with the corrosion-proof Eagle?

- Ready to go.

That's liftoff, Commander.

- No problems here, Kano.

We're clearing Alpha now on two four zero.

- And we shall build farms first.

And then will come the roads and the streets.

And slowly the community will have a heart,

an urban heart of great buildings.

It'll be the capital of our new civilization.

- I'm not sure that it's safe,

but I think maybe we should try it.

- Of course.

- I'll do some more tests when we get back.

- We're not going back.

We're staying right here to begin our new life.

None of this happened by chance.

We're given an atmosphere, a freak electrical storm

and we're cut off, a freak dust storm and we're buried,

we're almost near starvation

and food is sent from the heavens.

Oh no, the people of our planets have a sense of purpose,

and I believe we have one now.

This land will flow with milk and honey.

We will build and settle and bring up children.

We'll multiply.

And like the people of old Peru,

who spread the human race across the Pacific

on fragile rafts, so will we launch forth into space

and spread humanity from solar system to solar system.

That was sacred bread, Alan.

That was sent to us in our time of need.

- Paul, wait a minute, that...

- Pick it up.

- Ah.

- You would come between me and my destiny.

No one shall stop me, no one.

Paul, no, no.

- Look, Dr. Russell, the people of the planet Ariel

are here again.

It is a second coming.

- Atmospheric pressure's falling rapidly, Commander.

- Yeah, I'm not surprised.

Those satellites are back.

- Commander, 15 degrees left.

Spacesuits, Commander, the atmosphere's thinning fast.

- No time.

Take her.

Commander, I'm all right.

It's Sandra, she needs help.

She's in a shack over there.

Sandra.

- Leave her alone.

- There's no time, Paul.

- I said leave her alone.

We have laid the foundation stone of mankind's future,

Sandra and I.

Sandra, come on, come on, Sandra.

- What we have is a food substance, amazingly rich

in second-class protein and many of the essential vitamins.

We could grow almost limitless crops

once we've removed all the hallucinating elements.

- I'm sorry I didn't discover that sooner, Paul.

- Oh, I'm not, it wasn't a bad trip,

except for the ending.

- It's at times like that,

you find out who your friends are, Paul.

- Commander, there's movement of the alien object.

- Let's see it.

- It's leaving us.

- The sooner, the better.

We were neither benevolent,

nor malevolent, Commander Koenig.

Our absolute need was to prevent you

from penetrating the atmosphere of our planet.

So we gave you what you wanted,

in the hope that you would not further disturb us.

- Can you hear me?

And understand your thoughts.

- Then you must have known we came in peace.

We believe your intentions,

but we have been watching the progress of your world

since the beginning of time.

Human nature is such

that we could not afford to take the risk.