Well, Aurora's plan was to spend a year on the colony planet. So she would have been put into animation before boarding, as she did when leaving Earth.

Of course you might have a point depending on how well established the colony already was. If they're among the first colonists, then, yes, the ship must carry the means to suspend passengers for use on the planet (certainly the crew would require it).

Incidentally, I agree about the one-time viewing, yet I find the scenario & ethical issues raised quite intriguing. Seems as though it could have gone dozens of different ways.

I don't remember for sure now, but it sure sounded like they were going to be founding a new colony. Which means they wouldn't have technology to put people into hibernation any time soon, and likely the ship would have been cannibalized for materials and technology anyway.

Of course, that's one of the big problems with stories like this: they're supposedly sending 5,000 people to another planet to ease population on Earth, but currently there's not quite 400,000 people born EACH DAY on Earth. That means they would need to send out almost 80 of those ships PER DAY just to stay even!

@mechajutaro said:

Of course, that's one of the big problems with stories like this: they're supposedly sending 5,000 people to another planet to ease population on Earth, but currently there's not quite 400,000 people born EACH DAY on Earth. That means they would need to send out almost 80 of those ships PER DAY just to stay even!

This one was less well thought out than Armageddon in other words, despite the director giving it a more thoughtful looking veneer , in other words

Armageddon was "better" in terms of action etc, if you didn't think very much. But Deep Impact was better in a lot of technical ways.

Just for starters, having the Russian fuel station begin rotating before the shuttles arrive, was claptrap. It would be impossible to dock like that. And, if they had docked, "down" would have been the outer side walls of the shuttles, not their "floors."

Yeah the movie has tons of plot holes. The plot was written around their love story, and everything else was created to support it.

To begin with, there's no star as close as 180 light-years from us. If I'm not wrong, the closest one is 4K light-years.

It's said they were going to colonize the planet, and 20% of their income would go to the company. Apart from the possible semi-slavery issue, it's either not said or it's a plot hole that Aurora would stay there for a year and come back.

I'd guess that some ppl as Jim are poor and were doing a one-way travel to colonize the planet, but there are also some rich ppl like Aurora who are able to pay for the trip as some kind of tourist. It's shown that her friends made videos saying farewell to her and asking her why she'd do it, so I guess her case was very rare.

@Knixon said:

Of course, that's one of the big problems with stories like this: they're supposedly sending 5,000 people to another planet to ease population on Earth, but currently there's not quite 400,000 people born EACH DAY on Earth. That means they would need to send out almost 80 of those ships PER DAY just to stay even!

The idea of the colonization wasn't to alleviate Earth's overpopulation, it was to take out of it ppl who don't like that overpopulation . Therefore, ppl who don't like Earth or are unable to financially succeed or for whatever reason wanna make a new start have the chance of leaving it. At one scene Aurora asks Jim why he took the trip and he started reciting the company's marketing lines, then she tells him to say the truth implying that that marketing doesn't apply to anyone.

@HikariWS said:

Yeah the movie has tons of plot holes. The plot was written around their love story, and everything else was created to support it.

To begin with, there's no star as close as 180 light-years from us. If I'm not wrong, the closest one is 4K light-years.

Uhhh...

What?

Alpha Centauri is about 4 light-years. And there are several close in line after that. Epsilon Eridani is about 10.5 light-years, that's the system where Babylon 5 is/was/will-be/whatever located.

It's said they were going to colonize the planet, and 20% of their income would go to the company. Apart from the possible semi-slavery issue, it's either not said or it's a plot hole that Aurora would stay there for a year and come back.

I thought it was pretty clear that Aurora's trip was arranged separately, she was going to return to Earth - presumably returning almost 200 years after her initial departure - and publish a book about it.

(If the ship can make a 90-light-year trip in only 120 years, they must be traveling an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, but I don't remember any discussion of time-dilation effects.)

The costs of making the trip would be enormous, and I doubt that people working off their fare would be remotely cost-effective.

I'd guess that some ppl as Jim are poor and were doing a one-way travel to colonize the planet, but there are also some rich ppl like Aurora who are able to pay for the trip as some kind of tourist. It's shown that her friends made videos saying farewell to her and asking her why she'd do it, so I guess her case was very rare.

@Knixon said:

Of course, that's one of the big problems with stories like this: they're supposedly sending 5,000 people to another planet to ease population on Earth, but currently there's not quite 400,000 people born EACH DAY on Earth. That means they would need to send out almost 80 of those ships PER DAY just to stay even!

The idea of the colonization wasn't to alleviate Earth's overpopulation, it was to take out of it ppl who don't like that overpopulation . Therefore, ppl who don't like Earth or are unable to financially succeed or for whatever reason wanna make a new start have the chance of leaving it. At one scene Aurora asks Jim why he took the trip and he started reciting the company's marketing lines, then she tells him to say the truth implying that that marketing doesn't apply to anyone.

I suspect many/most people wouldn't enjoy living on overpopulated Earth, but there's no way any significant number of them could "escape" to colony worlds.

Yep I was mistaken, I was thinking it's 4K light-year from Sun.

Anyway, I may be mistaken again, but I understood that Aurora would never go back to Earth. She can write her book there and it be published and its data transfered to Earth, she doesn't need to travel herself.

@HikariWS said:

Yep I was mistaken, I was thinking it's 4K light-year from Sun.

Anyway, I may be mistaken again, but I understood that Aurora would never go back to Earth. She can write her book there and it be published and its data transfered to Earth, she doesn't need to travel herself.

No, she had a 'round-trip ticket. And she wanted to go back to Earth to be celebrated as the first person - or maybe the first "civilian," at least - to do so. Yes it would be like 250 years after she first left, but she did intend to go back.