As the RX-M nears Earth, the survivors calculate that they have no fuel to make a landing. Col. Graham contacts their base and reports their dire status to Dr. Fleming (Morris Ankrum), who listens intently and wordlessly over headphones. Col. Graham's report is not heard, but Fleming's subtle reactions tells of the crew's odyssey, their discovery of a once advanced civilization destroyed long ago by atomic war, and of the crew fatalities at the hands of Martian descendants reverted to barbarism.