- 18 months later, the U.S. spacecraft Discovery One is heading to Jupiter as part of the boringly named Jupiter Mission. Mission commander Dr. Dave Bowman and Deputy Dr. Frank Poole watch their interview with the BBC. Three other members of the ship's crew are in a state of hibernated sleep.
- The ship's operating system is run by a computer with a sophisticated artificial intelligence OS, called the HAL 9000. HAL tells the BBC interviewer that no 9000 computer has ever made a mistake. Ever. Dr. Bowman says HAL acts like he has genuine emotions but notes that no one knows whether or not these emotions are real.