This mission asks for extraordinary human sacrifice, but the payoff - being the first to discover potential life on another planet - is irresistible to an astronaut with just "the right stuff." Among them, the driven mission commander who's never known failure - until he loses one of his own to the unforgiving environment on Mars; the rational flight surgeon who discovers a new spirituality as she grapples with the magnitude of her journey; the veteran cosmonaut who knows just how many rules can be broken; the brilliant French nuclear physicist; and the Canadian astronaut who will play a key role before the end of the journey. Training and determination will get them only so far, and when this crew sets out on humanity's first expedition to another world, nothing can prepare them for the unexpected danger and staggering wonder of what they will experience. (thetvdb.com)