Mutta meets the rest of the lunar backup crew, made up of his NEEMO crewmate Andy, along with Phillip Louis, Carlo Greco, and Betty Rainer. They begin Desert RATS training, at a simulation habitat in the north Arizona desert, alongside the prime crew. As they are introduced to the Beetle vehicle and lunar spacesuits, Mutta notices that the crew is dysfunctional and argumentative. Back in Houston, Butler explains that the crew is made up of misfits that other astronauts were reluctant to work with. Unbeknownst to him, Mutta has been assigned to the crew as a gamble to bring them together, alongside the candidate for a crew captain.