- Hana Seung: We'd lost seven of our own. The lab and the greenhouse were destroyed. Olympus Town was on complete lock down until the nations of the IMSF decided on the fate of our mission. Was Mars going to be a giant leap forward, or just a passing novelty. It wasn't the first time humankind had faced this question.
- Robert Zubrin: It's like Columbus coming back from the New World and Ferdinand and Isabella saying, "ah, so what, forget it, burn the ships." The purpose of space ships is to actually travel across space and go to new worlds. Mars is where the science is, Mars is where the challenge is, and Mars is where the future is. If we say no, that is beyond us, then it would really indicate that we have become less than the kind of people we used to be, and that is something that this country cannot afford.
- Wernher Von Braun: [from archival footage] I really never had any doubts that it was possible to go to the Moon. Today I know.
- Robert Zubrin: People being able to see with their minds what others had yet to be able to see with their eyes.
- Elon Musk: [excitedly running back inside the command station after the rocket landing] It's standing up! Coming in, it sounded like an explosion.
- Lee Rosen: Yeah man!
- Elon Musk: [staring at the monitors in disbelief] Oh my God! Look at this, look at this! It's just sitting there, look at that. What? holy smokes man.
- [last lines]
- Hana Seung: And as we prepared for the next phase, one thing was clear. Our dream was alive.