A team of astronauts must find a way to survive when their spacecraft is damaged.
As the crew of the spacecraft, Astra V, ventured farther into the abyss of space, the universe decided to throw them a curveball. They were hit by a meteoroid, and the control panel was damaged beyond repair. The crew, led by Captain Mei, knew they were in for the fight of their lives.

Mei knew that without the navigation system, the spacecraft would drift aimlessly into space until their supplies ran out. The team had to come up with a plan and fast. The first thing they did was to assess the damage and take stock of their supplies. They had enough food and water to last them for six months, but their oxygen supply was severely limited.

Mei called for a team meeting and put forward a plan. They would have to manually manoeuvre the spacecraft towards the nearest planet, Mars. It was going to be a dangerous mission, but they had no other choice. The crew geared up, and with only a few hours of oxygen left, they started the manual flight control.

For days, the team worked in shifts, taking turns to operate the spacecraft. They had no idea if the planet they were heading to could support life, but they had no choice. They radioed back to Mission Control, but their transmissions went unanswered. Even as their oxygen levels went lower and lower, they did not give up hope.

More than two weeks into the mission, they finally saw Mars in the distance. The excitement was palpable. But as they descended towards the planet, they hit another obstacle. A powerful solar storm rocked the spacecraft, knocking out their communications and any chance of establishing a proper landing. The team was thrown into chaos. 

But as they drifted, Mei remembered a backup plan - the escape pods. If they could orchestrate a controlled landing with the parachutes, they might make it. It was a long shot, but it was their only hope.

With little oxygen left and no time to waste, the team quickly assembled the pods and buckled up. They waited anxiously as the pods were jettisoned from the spacecraft. As they descended towards the planet, they could feel gravity pulling them down, and their parachutes staggering the pods' descent onto the Martian red sands.

When the team woke up, they were surrounded by dust, but they were alive. Relief washed over them. The team quickly began to assess their surroundings, and to their delight, they had landed near a water source. They had done the impossible- survived a mechanical malfunction in space and landed on Mars.

Despite the slim chances of rescue, Mei and her crew now knew that they had a good starting point towards surviving for a while longer. They were stranded, but they were not giving up hope, and they would do everything they could to find a way back home. They had an even tougher challenge ahead, but at least they were all in this together.