Foster, Jodie

Controversy erupts around astronomer Ellie Arroway when radio telescopes on Earth receive a signal indicating the existence of life twenty-six light years away, and plans are transmitted for building a craft for traveling to Vega to meet with the messengers.

Examines the possibility that the rigors of the experience of an ascent of Mt. Everest can cause permanent, damaging changes to the human brain and body, following a team of climbers, under close monitoring by scientists, during an expedition to the summit of Everest and back again.