In a not too distant future, eccentric Swiss billionaire William Meyer launches the first civilian mission to Mars. The crew includes the top French, Italian, and German astronauts and scientists. After 10 months of space travel, the day before they land, they discover that their American competitors have overtaken them. After a chaotic landing on Mars, they find nothing but the debris of the American ship... and a lone survivor. His name is Vladimir Komarov. He is Russian. And he is the first man to die in space... In 1967.