Escape from Mars 1999

In 2015, the first crewed mission to Mars launches, a five‑person voyage that includes two women. Along the long journey, technical glitches and personal tensions test the crew’s cohesion. John Rank is the mission’s commander, recently separated from his wife, and he keeps his distance, shaping a chilly mood aboard the ship.

The landing on Mars is almost perfect, touching down just 17 meters from the planned site. Shortly after arrival, Lia Poirier, an astronaut, learns that her fiancé Robert Poirer has been killed in a fatal accident on an icy road. She struggles with the loss but gradually concentrates on the task ahead, letting duty steady her.

The lander endures damage from meteorite impacts, forcing the crew to flee to a nearby cave to ride out the bombardment. Robert Singer is injured during the chaos, adding another layer of strain to the already fragile mission.

Out on the Mars surface, John Rank and Sergei Andropov take a rover into the surrounding mountains to scout for raw materials and any signs of life. A violent sandstorm strikes, overturning the vehicle and leaving both men injured. Andropov’s spacesuit is compromised, leaking precious oxygen. John Rank makes a selfless choice, giving Sergei his own oxygen supply to keep him alive.

Back on the surface, Lia Poirier and Bill Malone begin a rescue mission with the replacement vehicle. They press on through perilous conditions and manage to locate the two injured men, bringing them back to the safety of the base. Sergei survives his injuries, while John Rank dies from the lack of oxygen—a hero’s sacrifice that defines the mission’s emotional core.

In a pivotal moment, Sergei points to a rock face with a fluorescing appearance, suggesting a biological origin. This clue—an unmistakable sign of life on Mars—sharply shifts the crew’s perspective from exploration to a fundamental scientific breakthrough.

John Rank is buried on Mars, and his courage is celebrated as a lifesaving act that helped another crew member endure. After a year and a half on the planet, ground control reveals there isn’t enough fuel and supplies for a safe return. Yet this grim constraint unexpectedly turns into luck: by rechecking fuel calculations and resource usage, ground control greenlights a return voyage, allowing the remaining crew to come home to Earth.