Planetes, Book 3

After an excruciating selection process, Hachimaki is accepted into the Mars Development Project, his lifelong dream. However, feelings of elation are soon sucked up by a black hole of despair as he comes to grips with the fact that he will be leaving everything he holds dear behind. This realization forces Hachimaki to contemplate the meaning of his existence and the nature of his life in space.