Orbital - Harvey, Samantha

Six astronauts rotate in their spacecraft above the earth. They are there to collect meteorological data and conduct scientific experiments. But mostly they observe. Together they watch our silent blue planet: endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day. Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?