Plot summary for
Capricorn One (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Classic conspiracy tale about the first manned mission to Mars. All appears to be going well until the astronauts are pulled off the ship just before launch by shadowy government types and whisked off to a film studio in the desert. It transpires that the space vehicle has a major defect which NASA just daren't admit. At the studio, over a course of months, the astronauts are forced to act out the journey and the landing to trick the world into believing they have made the trip. Meanwhile, a Journalist (played by Gould) is getting suspicious and every clue he uncovers seems to result in an attempt on his life! The astronauts are just about to splashdown when a further twist to the tale occurs, leaving them with no choice but to try and escape... Written by MT

When the head of NASA's manned Mars missions discovers that the capsule meant to carry the astronauts will suffer a catastrophic failure, he forces the three astronauts to participate in a hoax by broadcasting their 'Mission' from a studio built at a now abandoned air force base. Over the many months of the mission, the astronauts send broadcasts to Earth on their progress and all goes well until their space capsule burns up on re-entry. They soon realize that the only way for the hoax to be maintained is for them to die and they make a desperate attempt to escape their captors. Throughout this period, an investigative reporter gets wind of the fact that something is amiss with man's first mission to Mars and slowly puts together the pieces of the mystery. Written by garykmcd

Charles Brubaker is the astronaut leading NASA's first manned mission to Mars. Seconds before the launch, the entire team is pulled from the capsule and the rocket leaves earth unmanned much to Brubaker's anger. The head of the programme explains that the life support system was faulty and that NASA can't afford the publicity of a scratched mission. The plan is to fake the Mars landing and keep the astronauts at a remote base until the mission is over, but then investigative journalist Robert Caulfield starts to suspect something. Written by Col Needham {col@imdb.com}

Brolin, Waterston and Simpson play astronauts agreeing to spare the government embarrassment by faking their Mars landing after their spacecraft is unsafe for a manned takeoff. When mission controller Holbrook plots to kill them in a staged capsule fire, they try to expose the truth. Gould stars as a journalist determined to crack the conspiracy and Telly Savalas is an eccentric farmer coming to Gould's aid. Written by Anonymous

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