It’s 2050, Earth is dying, and colonizing Mars is the only alternative to obliteration. Mission Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) and her crew have made a journey to the red planet to investigate what went wrong with the malfunctioning Mars Terraforming Project, and to repair it. But a crash-landing leaves them without scientific, communication or escape equipment, and causes their military mapping and exploration robot to malfunction, becoming an enemy dedicated to breaking the team down. Defying orders from Houston, Bowman refuses to leave Gallagher (Val Kilmer), with whom she shares an intense emotional bond, and the rest of the crew, and instead attempts to guide them back from above.

But as the landing team explores the harsh new planet desperately seeking a way out, they make the most terrifying and baffling discovery of all: Mars may be barren, but it’s not uninhabited.