Ellen Wilson speaks to a huge crowd. It’s her second term, and she’s the first openly gay person to be president on a Wilson-bush ticket over Governor Brown.

She signed the M-7 treaty to populate Mars. A North Korean man spent over a year on Mars. All of the news that you need is found in the opening segment.

Clint Eastwood and Jada Pinkett starred in the movie about Ed and Danielle.

Awww. JFK Jr. prepped a senate run. Al Gore later defeats George Bush to become president. An insurgence in Saudi Arabia. Reality TV takes flight. Gore and the Soviet Union forged a huge pact, ending the Cold War. Now, we’re friends.

There is a thriving operation on Mars. Ed is leading an expedition in space. Ed gets to assign himself to any mission he wants. Grigory is about to fly to and land on an asteroid, making history. The mission is the fruit of the Mars alliance, someone named Lynera says. NASA administrator Eli Hobson shares the enthusiasm with his staff.

Asteroids normally seem to be hurtling through space, but Grigory climbs it easily as the world watches.

Margo is living a simple life in the Soviet Union. She looks miserable. When she exits her building, she notes someone in a car watching her from across the street. She’s battered; her mouth is sore; she’s wearing a wrist splint, and she’s limping.

Two men at a local news kiosk are complaining about the state of affairs today but wishing the younger people would realize how much better things have gotten.

Miles visits his daughters. His estranged wife isn’t happy to see him, nor is his older daughter. He needs his good shirt since he has an interview. He still hasn’t signed the divorce papers. Mandy thinks they can get back to where they were, but there isn’t a switch you can flip, making everything suddenly OK.

Mandy thinks this job interview will be another Amway situation, but he’s got an interview with Helios. They’re looking for rig men. It’s been five years since he did that, which Mandy points out. She thinks he’s a dreamer and knows how hard he takes things when they don’t work out. But she decides to iron his shirt to give him a leg up.

Danielle brings out a birthday cake for a little girl named Avery. Avery is Danielle’s niece. Actually, it’s Danny’s girl. When Danielle sees a photo of him on the counter, her face drops.

Karen’s son’s name is Alex. He’s super excited for Ed to come home, and they have a room all ready. Welcome Home Poppy. Karen says he better be coming home this time.

There’s quite a rig on the asteroid now, and Grigory is running it. Another astronaut thinks it would be great to fly free like Grigory. She says they do all the work while he gets all the glory. The other guy doesn’t care as long as they get their bonus.

Eli stops by to chat with Aleida, who has brought her son to work to see the space walk. She seems unhappy.

They are commencing the transfer of the asteroid into Mars orbit. For some reason. They’ve got it connected with cables.

Miles gets to Human Resources. There are dozens of applicants, and his face falls. He speaks to the receptionist and is told to fill out the application. There is nowhere to sit, so he does so standing. He looks at the educational requirements and feels less than. His friend has said nice things, but he lied on his application, and of course, that’s how the recruiter wants to connect. It’s painful!

He gets the OK to go, but he’s got a two-year wait. Is there anything he could do to do sooner? I can’t help but think of those cords on the asteroid. I smell death!

No! What about Mars, the guy asks. It’s a bigger commitment, two-year minimum. But the upside is bigger.

With the asteroid mission, the planted cords begin giving. The platform is falling. They’re losing tension in cable seven, causing some instability. Ed decides to shut down and go manual. The asteroid’s wobble is getting worse. Grigory says it’s coming loose. This isn’t good.

Grigory decides to go back out to try to set things right, rescuing the asteroid. They do not get approval, but Grigory is still going. The guy hoping to get his bonus (named Parker) exits with Grigory, and his female friend is disgusted by that.

People inside the ship are being slammed around, and the whole rig begins to capsize. Parker gets his foot caught and can’t move before one of the big arms of the rig kills him. Every cord is coming loose, and Ed orders Grigory back in. But Grigory is caught. Ed decides to rescue him, but Grigory wants Ed to cut him loose. There is a hole in Grigory’s suit; it’s too late for him. They have to go before everyone is lost.

Ed waits a bit long, looking at his friend before cutting him loose.

At NASA headquarters, Aleida has a flashback, rendering her unable to function. She has to excuse herself and her manager or someone demands to know where she’s going.

Danielle is showing Avery how to use her Easy Bake Oven when her husband calls her inside to watch the news.

Margo makes a call but is put off. Director Catiche is not taking her calls, but Margo doesn’t understand why. She jumps on a bus.

Miles is helping put the kids to sleep. His wife and daughter used to pretend Miles was just camping in the backyard when he went on a rig and that was only 100 miles away. Mars is 145 million miles away. It couldn’t be a worse day for him to get the job with the deaths. It seems to have put their marriage in perspective. Miles promises Mandy it will be OK.

They make love, but she makes sure he knows it doesn’t mean they’re getting back together.

Margo has a regularly scheduled appointment in nine days, and nobody has any desire to work her into the situation. The man who greets her wonders what, exactly, she thinks she can provide that they cannot handle. She says, well, in your place, everything. Apparently, when she arrived ten years ago, she was told she’d be consulted on all space matters. Not so much.

Ed sends Kelly a message that, given the current circumstances, he won’t be coming home. He promises to come home as soon as the new commander settles in. He’s promised every year, but he doesn’t come. Olga is done holding her tongue. She calls Ed selfish.

There is a memorial outside of NASA to the tragedy from the For All Mankind Season 3 finale.

Danielle visits with Eli, who is honored she came, especially on such short notice. Colonel Peters has lost his position as commander of Happy Valley in light of the tragic events. Eli wants Danielle to replace him. Command should pass to the Russians next, but since they are losing a commander mid-term, they’re making an exception for another American.

Danielle can’t help but point out Eli’s 20% budget cut at NASA upon taking control. He said over 60% of projects were overfunded or behind schedule. It was finally heading in the right direction. The asteroid mining program was why the M7 board funded Happy Valley. She hasn’t been to Mars in over seven years, though. A lot has changed. But people look up to her. She knows the pitfalls, and everyone will listen to her, especially Ed Baldwin.

This isn’t the first time Eli asked Danielle to come in. This time, she came because she lost her friend. They became very close, especially since Ed was a wreck over Karen. But if they don’t get this back on track now, all of that will have been in vain.

Aleida is ignoring calls from work. Her husband wonders if she’s OK, and she just says yes. She’ll work from home today.

Another boring day starts for Margo. Every day seems to be the same. Bakery, news kiosk, eating on a park bench. Today, though, a woman sits next to her on the bench. She’s an actor we know, so she must be significant. The woman begins talking about the birds she’s feeding, and Margo wonders if they know each other. The woman says she’s got Margo’s best interests at heart, and they are not served by making waves at Star City. Be patient like the birds, she says before walking off.

She leaves a baggie behind with a note. There is a phone number on it, nothing else.

Danielle catches up with Will Tyler at NASA. He thinks she should get back in the saddle again, but she says you never move on. The people you’ve hurt and the people you’ve lost are just carried around with you wherever you go.

The next shot is of Danielle floating around a ship. She’s on her way back to Mars on a ship called Unity. Miles is on the same flight.

Ed’s cabin is filled with mementos of his friends and family. He doesn’t seem to be doing well. He’s smoking, maybe a joint? His hands seem unsteady. Perhaps he’s battling an illness?