To want is the driving force behind science.
Every new thing you build leads to something in the future.
As long as you're serious about it,
you can accomplish anything with diligent science.
You could even build civilization from scratch and rescue all of humanity.
Senku...
You can do it.
Humanity will be back to eating ramen in space someday.
You will.
In space...
Alone.
Why am I the only one not petrified anymore?
Stanley's our pilot. He's the one doing the docking.
Did the revival watch get damaged?
Good morning, Senku.
I trust you're awake now.
So it wasn't a malfunction.
Xeno, this is your doing.
You're in zero gravity, after all.
Liquids don't flow there.
Just in case the revival fluid failed, I woke you up ahead of the others.
I get it!
You could have just...
Ah, sure, let's go with that.
Xeno-chan used to be one of Byakuya-chan's colleagues.
He gave Senku-chan a moment to be in space alone,
free to let the emotions flow.
You aren't even surprised that I'm awake.
Stanley, you knew, too, didn't you?
Why are you and Xeno getting all sentimental for me?
You weirdos.
Sentimental?
You're full of yourself, Senku.
I'm a soldier.
I'm just following orders.
Whatever you say.
Back in the 20th century, there was a spaceship design that didn't have windows.
And there's an anecdote that the pilots boycotted it.
To see space with your own eyes
is just that important for the emotional well-being of astronauts.
Do we have enough oxygen?
Docking in space has unknown risks.
We've prepared plenty.
Enough for another astronaut to be revived, in fact.
This... This is space?!
There's no up or down.
And my body is so light!
Chill out, lioness.
Here.
Francois-sensei's vinyl-packed space ramen.
It's delicious!
It tastes the same as what was aboard the
International Space Station in the 21st century.
This is what Senku's father, Byakuya, ate thousands of years ago.
The same food, out here in space just like us.
Could this "space station" thing that Byakuya
and his team lived in still be floating out here?
No.
There was no one to control it.
It turned into a shooting star and fell back to Earth long ago.
Thousands of years ago.
Oh.
That's how it's meant to be.
Remember what we said?
The space station was sent up to space in pieces and docked together there.
Now it's our turn.
We're docking in space and getting free of our puny-ass planet
with our Stone World space science!
Congratulations, Stanley!
You managed to connect the tips of two ships
out here in space where there's no up or down!
We can't be celebrating just yet.
That's just two modules.
Save it for after we've connected all five modules.
Well, anyway, that was a success.
Ten billion percent no problem.
Show some joy!
You never change, do you, Senku?
Wait...
Is it just me, or are the guys on the surface a bit too calm?
You did it, Senku!
Taiju should be bawling and screaming his head off about now.
Yeah, that's exactly what he's doing right now.
Is this supposed to be a joke?
The radio's gone silent.
Here comes the third module!
So that's the 11.0 eyesight I've heard so much about.
Nice.
You can always count on me to observe.
Even on the docking screen!
I'm sorry! I grabbed it too forcefully!
No, Kohaku, it isn't your fault.
There's something wrong with the power system on the ship.
Half of the image is gone.
How are we supposed to dock with Module 3?
Stanley, can your skills cover for it?
Yeah, I can do it.
Shit, this?
This is what brings us down?
What is this thin stick?
A fragment of petrification stone?
It's a single human hair.
It was wedged in the circuit from the beginning.
Why did that piece of hair suddenly become petrified?
Five meters, one second.
It was when we used the petrification beam on the rocket before we launched.
Trial and error.
This is how science moves forward.
We should have petrified before we boarded.
The reasons for failure always become clear after.
It's gone!
The docking monitor image is completely gone!
Module 4 is on its way.
Any chance you can fix it?
We have a blown capacitor.
I don't know how bad the damage is.
We need to replace the entire power distribution circuit.
And there's no way to procure one out in space.
There's no way we can do this!
We can't match the tips of two ships without the camera!
What's going on here?
It looked to me like our unmanned fourth module moved on its own.
No, there's definitely someone on board.
Module 4 is the lunar lander.
There could be enough space for someone to shove themselves on board.
Who could be so reckless?!
There's only one idiot in the Stone World who could be
so ten billion percent idiotic!
I've finally set out!
Space is mine!
I've finally set out!
Space is mine!
Of course those are your first words in space, Ryusui.
Are they going to know that Ryusui is docking?
We can hear them on the radio, but Senku's team can't, right?
That won't be an issue.
They're the three most elegant astronauts on Earth.
Still, docking from Module 4 is going to be hell.
Yeah, considering it doesn't have a reaction wheel...
Rea... wheel?
It's a machine inside a spaceship that's made of
stupidly fast spinning disks to control its attitude like a spinning top.
Reaction Wheel
You could blast the engines full-tilt and get it under control that way.
But you'd run out of fuel.
No... I can see it!
Ryusui's adjusting the ship's attitude!
Yo, Xeno, did you slam a control machine together last-minute?
No, that would be impossible.
Ryusui's controlling the ship's attitude without a reaction wheel...
But how is he doing it?
If you don't have what you want, make it yourself!
Am I right?
I am my own spinning top!
A human reaction wheel!
He's gone mad with greed!
He's actually unhinged.
Amazing.
After all that, Ryusui-chan ended up in space anyway.
He's got impossible luck.
Yeah.
But you know, you probably don't even need anything superstitious to explain it.
Indeed.
He'd prepared for this possibility.
Even after it was decided that he wouldn't board the rocket,
Ryusui-sama continued his arduous training.
Greed is good.
Isn't this the part that broke?
The power distribution panel.
That's hella perfect.
We can replace the whole thing.
Good going, backup flight control team.
An elegant gift, wouldn't you say?
We did hear you the whole time, after all.
Does that mean...
They're taking Ryusui...
...all the way to the moon?
Dang!
I can just turn myself into cargo by petrifying myself.
That way, I'm not draining life support.
Yeah.
Although you'll be a bulky waste of space.
Guess I'll have to redo a bunch of calculations now.
That does it for docking procedures.
Well, then, time to head out for real.
To the moon!
Flight control for the rest of the mission
will be transferred from here on Treasure Island to the Kingdom of Science.
We can use the round trip times of pings
sent to and received from the ship to calculate its distance.
Further, we can calculate the ship's speed
from the Doppler effect of the radio signals.
The dumpling effect?
You know how when an ambulance comes your way, it goes "wee-woo-wee-woo,"
and then when it goes away, it goes "wee-woo-wee-woo"?
That's the Doppler effect.
In other words, we can continually correct their position and trajectory.
Radio waves again.
They sure are useful, aren't they?
We even use them in phones and microwaves.
Senku's team is flying at 38,000 kilometers per hour right now.
Over 30,000?
Planes fly at around 1,000 kilometers per hour, right?
Yes. Which means the spaceship is the fastest vehicle humans have ever made.
Three Days Later
It's really... the moon.
And it's so close.
A sextant? On the spaceship?
A tool to calculate one's position from aboard a ship.
Hell yeah!
I thought you could use one of these on a spaceship
to look at the stars and figure out where you are.
Chrome came up with it.
You and I, Suika.
It's the first invention by our newbie science team.
An elegantly low-tech solution employed on the first Apollo mission.
So it was a thing already!
It's amazing that you can fly to the moon using such primitive tools, huh?
Once they're on the far side of the moon,
they'll have no radio communication with Earth.
From there, they'll have to navigate the vastness of space
with their own eyes and calculations.
So this is the other side of the moon.
It's full of holes.
Yeah.
The side of the moon that faces Earth is always the same.
The other side's stupid nasty.
They're the remnants of Mr. Moon protecting us
by drawing in all the meteorites that could have hit us otherwise.
We, denizens of Earth,
were being protected by the moon without even knowing it.
And as for the astronauts who'll set foot on our savior, the moon...
We've prepared for just three to land in case we have troubles during flight.
Yeah.
I'm the science man. I'll stay in the command module and—
No.
I'm staying in the command module.
As the representative of the new Stone World,
Senku, you're going to the surface.
Ryusui, didn't you want the glory of setting foot on the moon?
I'm a sailor.
The landing force will be comprised of three.
The command module will be piloted by one.
I want both, but if I had to choose, I choose the trophy of one.
Am I right?
Sure, that's what we'll tell them.
Have you come up with something to tell the world
when you take your first step on the moon?
I don't know why, but I just came up with a fantastic phrase!
This may be a small step for man, but it's a giant step for humanity!
Shit, that's badass! What's that from?
That line's by Armstrong-chan, the first man to land on the moon.
My bad! No wonder it came to me from out of the blue!
Just keep your first words simple, dude.
"Holy shit, the moon!"
"Hey, cuties of the world, I'm in the market for a girlfriend."
"Achievement unlocked: First Moon Landing!"
We're having a one-liner battle now?
So, have you guys decided on anything, Senku-chan?
Huh?
I haven't thought of anything.
I figured.
But...
The lunar surface has a different kind
of significance than it did in the 21st century.
If we can't defeat Why-Man, humanity will eventually be killed off.
If we defeat Why-Man, we get to have the secret of petrification.
We're stepping down on new science with humanity's future on the line.
It's a decisive step!
This is exhilarating!
Next Episode
This is a work of fiction, but the plants, animals, and production methods described are based on reality. Foraging and making things on your own accord is extremely dangerous and, in some cases, illegal. Please do not imitate without expertise.