In 2052, the 8 member crew of the Antares set off on a 7 year, 6 planet voyage of Earth's solar system, ostensibly to conduct research and expand man's knowledge of their surroundings. The crew is led by two veteran astronauts, Ted Shaw and Maddux Donner, who were part of a Mars mission 10 years earlier that left two crew members dead. The remaining members are all rookies who have undergone a rigorous, 5 year training program and in flashbacks, the challenges they faced in being selected for the mission are revealed. The reality however is that none of the crew is aware of the real purpose of the mission, the result of an encounter with an alien object 15 years before.