Mutta has learned that Kenji and Serika have strong reasons to become astronauts, while Mutta is simply trying to achieve a childhood dream. This causes Mutta to begin to question himself.

The third exam is halfway over. Mutta works on a completely white puzzle as he ponders why Fukuda-san would break the only clock in the sealed box.

Mutta has been picked to go to Houston for the final astronaut selection exam. But because his selection means that Kenji wasn't chosen, he has mixed feelings.

Two days are left before launch. First, the lunar lander Artemis goes into space on Mars V. Afterwards, Hibito and the rest of the crew will head into space on Mars I.

Two hours have passed since JAXA was supposed to notify the candidates, and Mutta hasn't received a call. When the phone finally rings, he's told to go to a nearby park. What will his fate be?

The JAXA astronaut candidates head to Houston, to begin training at NASA. However, Murakami-san appears to have a surprise in store for Mutta.

The astronaut candidates continue their survival training in the desert. Team E has fallen behind the others, but after Nitta takes the lead, they try to pick up the pace.

As Azuma makes his way towards the moon, Mutta's team works on testing the rover, learning of what flaws they need to fix. The team consider following another team's example and going with a glider instead of a ground rover, but Pico points out that the wind would cause issues with that plan. Using his engineer insight on how to overcome their obstacles, Mutta suggests that they make the rover's tires out of sponge, so they can have larger tires that still fit inside the rocket whilst also reducing costs and providing shock absorption. Impressed by this idea, Pico decides to give the team advice on their parachute, encouraging them to think of the rover as a spaceship containing their comrades. With Mutta's ideas and Pico's advice, the team manage to put together a working rover complete with a functioning parachute. Later, as Mutta is invited by Pico for a drink, Vince takes him for a drive.

During their car ride, Vince mentions that he considers astronomers his enemy, due to their supposed snobbery towards manned spaceflight. When asked who his viewpoint, Mutta responds that he considers himself to be his worse enemy, with Sharon being the one who helped him see that. As Pico joins them at the bar, Mutta's remark about earnest failures reminds Pico and Vince about their childhood friend, Rick, who used to make rockets together. Back when they were fifteen, they were under pressure to give up on their dreams and settle with becoming coal miners due to the town they were raised in, but they reaffirmed their dreams after seeing Brian riding the ISS.

Whilst Hibito, Damian and Linda begin their rehabiliation, Amanti tells Mutta about a premonition she had about him, saying someone close to him will soon be stricken by a serious illness. Meanwhile, Sharon travels to a conference in America to propose the construction of a lunar telescope. Back in Houston, Mutta and the other AsCans are at Ellington Airport where they much learn how to pilot a T-38 jet as part of their astronaut training. Mutta is called up by Sharon who, after talking with Serika who is a big fan of hers, says she will be in Houston in two days, whilst Mutta starts to worry if she is the one Amanti mentioned.

After Mutta takes a make-up exam, this time managing to concentrate properly, he once again meets Deneil Young. With the top scoring AsCans being assigned to the best flight instructors for their T-38 training, Mutta, as the only one who had to take a make-up, is assigned to Deneil.

Hibito informs Mutta that he'll be returning to Japan for a week in order to be debriefed by JAXA and visit Sharon. Meanwhile, Mutta struggles with multitasking aspect of flying a T-38, not helped by Deniel's improvisations and a burger commercial that got stuck in his head. After giving him some advice on being a top pilot, Deneil later tells Mutta that he plans to retire once Mutta becomes an official astronaut. Meanwhile, Hibito and the other astronauts go drinking with Pico, telling him about his experiences with Deneil. As Mutta finally gets the hang of his training, Deneil tells him about how he salutes to pictures of pilots and would-be astronauts who died in flight accidents.

After completing training, Mutta is offered a spot on the backup crew for an upcoming ISS mission. This is a golden opportunity for Mutta to make it to space quickly. But he must consider what he truly wants to do.

Mutta comes up with an idea to prevent vehicular accidents on the moon. Will NASA accept his proposal?

Mutta's proposal to improve the lunar rover is received well. But he still hasn't convinced Chief Butler to let him train for lunar missions. Desperate for ideas, Mutta researches Chief Butler's history for clues.

Mutta has convinced Chief Butler to allow him to start training for lunar missions. Meanwhile, Hibito is in Russia, trying to overcome his panic disorder.

Only one of each team's two Ants will be chosen to go to the moon. Since the beginning of his journey, Mutta has worked with Kenji, so he isn't sure what to do.

Eddie Jay's arrival has given the CES-62 sub crew a much-needed jolt. After a night jog brings the crew closer together, Eddie suggests that the crew members share their stories.

It's New Year's, and the Nanba family is together in Houston to celebrate. Mutta feels good, as he trains for the moon and talks to Serika, but Hibito doesn't seem to be in a celebratory mood.

Troubled by Hibito's disappearance, Mutta's performance begins slipping. However, a conversation with Chief Butler reassures him.