Previous
Orbit 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Orbital, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Isolation and the Limits of Human Connection
Time, Perception, and Alienation
Memory and Grief
Human Influence and Environmental Responsibility
Nature’s Power and Indifference
Summary
Analysis
On the space station, the astronauts continue their routine as solar flares erupt from the sun, creating a protective effect that shields them from more dangerous cosmic radiation. As the sun’s energy pulses outward, the crew performs their daily maintenance tasks—Shaun collects trash, Roman and Pietro clean the toilets, Anton tends to the air purification system, Chie wipes down surfaces, and Nell vacuums air vents, finding small objects caught in the filters.
The astronauts continue their daily routines while solar flares shield them from more dangerous radiation, reinforcing how survival in space depends on forces beyond their control. Their tasks are mundane, yet they maintain the fragile balance of their environment. Even in orbit, life is built on maintenance, repetition, and small actions that keep them from drifting into disorder.
Themes
In the quiet that follows, Chie looks out a window, thinking of her mother’s upcoming funeral and how the ashes will soon be scattered in Japan. Meanwhile, Roman and Anton work in the Russian module, with Anton quietly worrying about a lump on his neck that he refuses to report, fearing it could cut short both his mission and the missions of two others who would have to return with him. As they orbit over Cape Town, Pietro checks for news on the typhoon, now classified as a super-typhoon, and wonders about the fate of the Filipino family he met years ago.
Chie’s grief is distant, detached from the immediacy of loss. Meanwhile, Anton’s silence about his health reflects the way astronauts suppress personal concerns for the sake of the mission. He refuses to report the possibly cancerous lump on his neck because he knows the entire crew would have to return to Earth. The fear of being sent home, of disrupting something larger than himself, outweighs his desire for self-preservation.
Themes
As the crew winds down for the evening, they gather for dinner in the Russian module, sharing preserved Russian foods and reminiscing about childhood. Chie recalls Japanese candy shops, Anton and Roman reminisce about condensed-milk sweets, and Pietro mentions Italian milk candies. While they exchange stories, they momentarily forget the isolation of space.
The shared meal in the Russian module becomes a brief escape from isolation. As the crew recall childhood sweets, they return to memories of Earth that have nothing to do with science, technology, or survival. Nostalgia becomes a form of resistance against the slow erasure of their past lives. The stories they tell are small, but they serve as reminders of who they were before space began stripping away the details of their identities.
Themes
Later, Roman makes contact with a woman named Therese through the radio. She is surprised to be speaking to a cosmonaut and shares a personal story about feeling “crestfallen”—a sense of existential doubt she once experienced while brushing her teeth on a long-haul flight. She wonders if astronauts ever feel the same way. Roman tells her that, despite the loneliness and exhaustion, he never feels crestfallen in space. Before the signal cuts out, Therese briefly mentions her husband’s recent death, leaving Roman unable to respond before their connection is lost.
Roman’s conversation with Therese touches on the existential weight of isolation. Her question—whether astronauts feel crestfallen—suggests that space, like long-haul travel, creates a unique form of detachment. Roman denies feeling this way, but his answer is ambiguous. Space changes people, dulling some emotions while intensifying others. The conversation ends abruptly, leaving Therese’s mention of her husband’s death unresolved. The silence that follows lingers, another reminder that space offers no way to comfort those left behind.
Themes
Get the entire Orbital LitChart as a printable PDF.
Meanwhile, Shaun receives an email asking him to write about how this new era of space travel is shaping the future of humanity. Struggling to form an answer, he jokes with Pietro, who cynically responds that the future of space travel is entirely in the hands of billionaires. As they talk, Shaun hands Pietro the postcard from his wife, which features Velázquez’s Las Meninas. Pietro, after some thought, decides the real subject of the painting is the dog in the foreground—the only figure in the complex composition that is neither looking nor being looked at, making it the only thing truly free. This observation shifts Shaun’s entire perception of the painting, leading him to see it not as a tangled web of human interactions, but as a quiet portrait of an animal unburdened by human concerns.
Shaun’s struggle to articulate the future of space travel illustrates the tension between idealism and reality. While Shaun searches for existential meaning, Pietro dismisses it as a playground for billionaires, reducing the question to one about politics and money. The postcard featuring Las Meninas adds another layer to this discussion. Pietro’s interpretation—that the only truly free figure in the painting is the dog—redefines the entire image. His perspective shifts Shaun’s view, suggesting that meaning is not fixed but shaped by where one stands. Just as space alters the astronauts’ perception of Earth, a single observation can reframe an entire reality.
Themes
