Countdown 1967

In the late 1960s, after NASA learns that the Russians intend to launch a Moon mission in just four weeks, the agency activates the secret Pilgrim Project—a bold plan to send one astronaut on a one‑way trip to the Moon in a specially modified Gemini craft, with a shelter pod already launched and waiting to be retrieved later by another crew. Lee, James Caan, is tapped to be the first man to attempt this dangerous mission, a choice that stirs tension and pride among the team. The mission commander, Chiz, Robert Duvall, pushes Lee through a grueling training regime in the final days, partly to prepare him and partly to test whether he will quit in the face of the daunting odds. Lee remains steadfast, driven by the enduring dream of becoming an astronaut, even as Chiz questions whether the young pilot can truly handle the pressure.

A press leak about Pilgrim leaks into the public eye, and the Russians respond by launching a week earlier than scheduled. They reveal a plan to send a civilian, which shocks NASA and the White House, who insist that an American civilian must be the first to set foot on the Moon. Despite the political heat, the operation moves forward. The shelter pod lands as planned, and Lee is launched on schedule. En route, a power drain threatens the mission, and radio contact becomes unreliable, complicating every maneuver. The Russians struggle with their own communications as well. As Lee makes his lunar orbit, he loses sight of the shelter beacon and nearly aborts, but he chooses to lie about seeing it and continues. Mission Control approves a retro burn, and he lands, though contact remains severed.

Emerging from the Gemini lander, Lee finds himself with only an hour of oxygen remaining. He discovers the Soviet lander crashed on its side, with three cosmonauts dead around it. In a quiet, solemn gesture, he removes the Soviet flag from one of the fallen and places it beside his own American flag on a rock, acknowledging the intertwined fates of the two nations. With precious air dwindling and nowhere else to go, he studies the toy mouse his son gave him, its tail spinning toward the right, and heads in that direction. A red glow on his arm catches his attention—the locator beacon atop the shelter—reminding him that survival hinges on reaching the shelter. In the final, stark moment, Lee is last seen walking toward the shelter, the possibility of rescue or return hanging in the balance.