She could have been – should have been – America’s first woman in space, and possibly the first human to set foot on the moon, but they denied her. Instead, aviation pioneer, Jerrie Cobb, found herself launched into the jungles of the Amazon on a mission of love, danger, and death.

SYNOPSIS:

This story is told present-day through a conversation between now-eighty-eight-year-old JERRIE and DANA KLAUSNER, a young female astronaut of today. It starts us out in 1978 with Jerrie’s plane crashing somewhere over the Amazon, then quickly takes us back to Jerrie in her 20s as she struggles against the 1950s culture of “women belong in the kitchen”. But she’s a determined woman, focused on one thing; to fly in space.

We follow her as she gets a job at an airplane ferry service, delivering retired military aircraft to foreign countries, mostly in South America. She develops a deep passion for the people of the Amazon, and a love affair with her sexy boss, JAKE, who gives her a bumblebee necklace as a keepsake. Over time, Jerrie enjoys the lovemaking, but she makes it clear that she wants the moon more than she wants a man!

Then, things take an unexpected turn when she’s recruited into the Women In Space Program to become America’s first female astronaut. It’s her dream come true! She leaves Jake’s company (but not him) and passes the very same tests the Mercury Seven crew did… including Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, and John Glenn.

Not only does Jerrie pass all the tests, she even outmatches the guys on some of them! All the while, she and Jake meet up whenever they can, steaming up the bedroom.

But then, her dreams are shattered. The Women In Space Program is shut down. The Navy School of Aviation needs a letter from NASA endorsing the program. NASA will not send it. Her dreams of space flight are crushed, and so is she.

Feeling lost, Jerrie must figure out who she is and the purpose of her life. She decides to commit her life to serving the primitive tribes of the Amazon. Dangerously flying solo, she encounters adventure, threats, and danger along the way. One day, she gets word that Jake’s plane has been shot down somewhere over the Amazon by illegal rubber tree harvesters who’ve been ravaging the landscape, often killing off entire tribes in their wake. Jerrie knows what she must do… find Jake and rescue him! So, she and nurse Kate fly deep into the jungle searching for his downed airplane, and then set off on foot for this mission of saving Jake… if he’s even alive!

Encountering jaguars, snakes, and fierce tribal enemies, they find Jake, barely alive. They save him, take him back to where her airplane sits, and take off for safety and medical help.

And then the worst happens… the weather is treacherous, tossing the plane around like a feather in the wind. The engine loses its oil, grinding the valves and pistons. The engine quits completely. She crash-lands her airplane, smashing into the mud, skidding toward the jungle, slamming into a ditch, and disappearing over the edge.-------------------- DEAD SILENCE

Later, tribal friends find them and take them to a missionary camp, where they’re flown to a hospital. Kate’s okay, Jerrie’s wounded, and Jake’s on the edge of death. In his hospital room, she finally realizes her true need in life… to love him and to be loved. She pleads for him not to leave her. He wakes up. She confesses her love; they hold hands. But it’s too late. Jake dies.

CUT TO: Now we’re back in 88-year-old Jerrie’s bedroom, present-day, Dana sits by her side. Jerrie just finished telling the story of Jake. They’re both crying. Jerrie asks Dana to bring her a music box from the dresser. With the box on her lap, Dana opens it. As it plays a tune, Jerrie’s life monitors begin to SCREAM. She heaves her chest, trying to breathe. Dana stands to help Jerri as the nurse works on her. The music box falls to the floor. Out tumbles the bumblebee necklace.------------- JERRIE IS GONE.

FADE TO:

Two weeks later, Dana graduates from NASA’s astronaut program wearing the bumblebee necklace. In her speech, she pledges to honor Jerrie’s life and the other women of the Women In Space Program, known as the Mercury Thirteen.

TITLES UP – describing where the main characters are now.

FADE TO: SUPER: NASA’s Mission Lovelace, March 5, 2026: Astronaut Commander Dana Klausner exits her lunar capsule and steps onto the moon’s surface with her second-in-command, Captain Hokanson. Commander Klausner opens the hydraulic lid of a metal box. She reaches in, pulling out a handful of white, grainy, organic material. Klausner opens her hand and says, “Geraldyn Cobb, Auntie Jerri, you finally made it to the moon,” and she lets Jerrie’s ashes gently sift through her gloved fingers, floating to the surface.