After completing the second JAXA exam, Hibito invites Mutta for a free trip to Houston, Texas, through NASA's family support program. Upon arrival, he finds himself chased by a pug named Apo, and is then reunited with Hibito. However, Hibito expresses disappointment.

After learning that his former boss has told JAXA about the headbutt incident, Mutta has given up hope on passing the exam. To cope, Mutta falls back on his childhood habit of multitasking like crazy when something bad happens.

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 sealed box teams are assigned more tasks. These include Running Math, five minutes of mental math while running, and a typing test. Next, they're asked to write a letter of protest to a journalist who is criticizing government funding for space exploration.

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.