2001: A Space Odyssey

David Bowman and Frank Poole are on a spacecraft called Discovery, 30 days from Earth. They both feel strangely detached from their old lives and their past experiences, as though they had never “known any other existence than the closed little world” of the spacecraft (79). In the 50 years since men first ventured into space, this mission is unique. “Project Jupiter” was to be the first manned round trip to Jupiter, requiring two years to complete. However, shortly before departure, the mission was suddenly changed. Instead of Jupiter, the final destination would be Saturn, and the ship would not make a return journey. The crew would instead be retrieved by Discovery II, an as yet unbuilt spacecraft, hibernating until its arrival. The three crewmembers besides Bowman and Poole are also hibernating for the 10-month voyage. Once in orbit around Saturn, they will have 100 days to survey the planet and its moons before shutting the ship down and going into hibernation. While the crew sleeps, they will be watched over by the ship’s computer, or “electronic brain” (81), which monitors the crew’s vital systems. Bowman recalls the hibernation test he completed in preparation for the mission and how disoriented it made him.