Impact

A meteor shower drives fragments toward Earth and an asteroid fragment strikes the Moon. The debris penetrates the lunar surface and causes only minor damage to Earth, but it visibly alters the Moon. Observers soon sense the Moon's orbit is shifting and its influence on Earth begins to be felt.

The Moon stabilizes in a slightly closer orbit around Earth, and strange electromagnetic effects begin to appear on the planet. People report static discharges, anomalous tides, and odd levitations in various locations. The changes point to a direct link between Earth's surface phenomena and the Moon's new dynamics.

Researchers determine the hit was a magnetized fragment of a brown dwarf, far more massive than it appears. The fragment remains lodged inside the Moon, reshaping its core and amplifying its magnetic field. The discovery reframes the crisis as a magneto-gravitational threat rather than a simple asteroid impact.

As the Moon's magnetism interacts with Earth's field, surges cause devices to malfunction and objects to levitate worldwide. Governments scramble to respond to the unpredictable phenomena and evacuate threatened regions. The world realizes the Moon will collide with Earth in 39 days.

A global attempt to destroy the Moon with nuclear missiles fails to alter its course or disrupt the embedded fragment. The failure demonstrates that a direct lunar intervention won't suffice, forcing a longer-term rescue plan. The world braces for a one-way mission that could save civilization.

A multinational crew—Alex Kittner, Maddie Rhodes, Roland Emerson, Courtney Batterton, and Sergei Pitinkov—teams up to reach the Moon and install a magnetizing device. Their goal is to dislodge the brown dwarf fragment by altering the Moon's magnetic properties. They acknowledge the mission may be a one-way trip.

Martina Altmann's levitating train derails amid the disturbances while traveling across Germany. She and American Bob Pierce survive and join a military convoy seeking safety. Martina and Roland wed soon after, tying their fates to the approaching mission.

Alex Kittner's children are left with their grandfather Lloyd as the world collapses around them. Their car levitates and crashes during their attempt to reunite with their father. Derek, initially hoarding resources, eventually agrees to help transport the children toward Washington, DC.

Alex, already in space, tells his kids goodbye via a video feed and asks Maddie to keep them safe. He and Maddie acknowledge the personal stakes of the mission and promise to reunite later. The moment underscores the sacrificial cost of attempting to avert planetary disaster.

On the Moon, the electromagnetic device is assembled and a hovercraft heads to locate a fissure in the lunar surface. Debris strikes the craft, knocks Courtney into the fissure, and leaves Roland immobilized inside. He exhorts Sergei to launch the module so they can be saved.

The device detonates, and the blast incinerates Roland as the Moon splits into two halves. The embedded brown dwarf fragment shoots toward the Sun and the debris settle into two stable lunar halves in new orbits. Sergei and Alex escape and make radio contact as they return toward Earth.

Back on Earth, Alex is united with his children and Maddie, and the trio decides to return to Canada for safety. They step outside to glimpse the two moon halves in their altered, distant orbits. The final image frames a hopeful, precarious balance between survival and a changed world.