Mission to Mars complete the sequence to pass a test, and the crew dispatches a robotic rover to reproduce the completed signal. Following the transmission, an opening appears in the side of the structure, which Jim, Terri, and Luke enter, while Phil remains at the repaired Earth return vehicle with orders to launch, with or without them, at the agreed time. The opening seals behind them, disrupting radio communication with Phil, and a three-dimensional projection of the solar system depicts the planet Mars, covered with water, being struck by a large asteroid and rendered uninhabitable. A recreation of a Martian then reveals that
Solar System Solar System The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of the objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest are the eight planets, with the remainder being smaller objects, such as the five dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies. Of the objects that orbit the Sun indirectly—the moons—two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury. The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with