Saturday 14 December 2013

Space Brothers - Episode 86

Mutta is the talk of the town (or rather, of NASA's management) thanks to his smart thinking during the latter stages of his NEEMO training, and this week we're filled in on the slice of genius which has led to all of this praise.

Having heard news of Sharon's lunar telescope plan being shelved by NASA, it seemed only sensible that he do likewise for his team's moonbase model, leaving the question of what to do with the materials provided.  While pondering the energy saving required within the underwater base and the frequent lack of light as a result, Mutta realises that the issue must be even more pronounced on the Moon, bringing him to an obvious solution - to use the reflective panels at his disposal to work as a natural, solar-based lighting system that could be deployed on the Moon to give astronauts more light in the base without requiring any power whatsoever.  No only is this a smart idea, it's also confirmed as entirely feasible as part of the existing base on the Moon, which must surely put Mutta in place as a front-runner for the next lunar mission.


This satisfying end to Mutta's training means that our attentions return to Hibito, who is doing his best to put up with the seemingly never-ending cavalcade of pointless meetings about astronaut safety so that he can focus on the true goal of his recovery from the panic disorder plaguing him.  Thankfully, this secret training seems to be paying off, granting Hibito some notable progress, although it seems that suspicion is growing as to exactly what he, Lowry and Doctor Olivia are up to.

Having given us the good news of the impression made by Mutta during his NEEMO training, it was satisfying to see this week's episode fill in the gaps as to exactly what had made such a splash with management, providing another of those pleasing moments that fits in nicely with the show's themes and ideals.  With Hibito's own training also moving on apace, it feels like we're getting closer to the brother's dream of standing on the lunar surface together, although surely there are still plenty of twists and turns still to come.

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