President calls off the air strike, averting an international crisis, and invites the Israeli Prime Minister to Washington under the pretext of discussing the settlement of the West Bank. President Bartlett shares his concerns over proliferation and escalation with the Prime Minister, who says that the submarines are part of an essential second-strike capability against Iran, which he is certain will eventually develop nuclear weapons. A subplot throughout the episode consists of NASA officials trying to convince Josh Lyman to push the administration and Congress to authorize funding for a potential human mission to Mars. At first, Lyman harshly dismisses the idea, citing high costs and a recent string of technical failures by the agency. However, an attractive female administrator (Christina Chang) takes him stargazing and rekindles his enthusiasm for space exploration, and he composes an inspiring speech in support of the idea. The episode ends with shots of Lyman looking through a telescope into the night sky and President Bartlet watching the satellite feed of the nuclear test in the Situation Room as "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" plays, juxtaposing the possibilities made accessible by modern technology for both innovation and advancement, as well as for violence and destruction. In another development, a conservative television pundit, Taylor Reid (Jay Mohr), chides Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, who feels somewhat neglected by the administration. Cultural references The nuclear test plotline is similar to the real-life 1979 Vela incident, in which a flash was reportedly "detected" by only a single satellite in the southern Indian Ocean (although it was reportedly observable by another such satellite), with the initial suspicion being that it was the result of a South African or Israeli nuclear test. The NASA subplot includes an official mentioning to Josh the need to launch a probe by a certain time so it can perform a gravitational slingshot at Jupiter and explore the Kuiper belt. While not named, this describes the real-life New Horizons mission, which, at the time of this episode, was facing administration opposition and a looming launch window for the purpose of a gravity assist from Jupiter. Coincidentally with the debate conducted in the subplot, the actual New Horizons mission garnered significant positive publicity for NASA, including display of Pluto images in Times Square. Josh mentions Voyager 1 crossing the termination shock, which was reported to have begun around the original air date of the