Our moon, Yue:
Dìqiú's only natural satellite. For all our recorded history, she has haunted us with her beauty and impressed us with her power. Waterbenders love her. Firebenders fear her. Young lovers pray for her intercession. And always, people have wondered: Could we ever possibly reach high enough to touch her?

And if we could... do we dare try?

This is the story of a group of men and women who did dare try, and the legion of dedicated professionals whose skill, diligence, and effort made their daring matter. Drawn together from all over the world, inspired by a man's bold vision and a woman's indomitable courage, they overcame a series of immense challenges, both technical and personal, to make possible the greatest voyage of exploration ever undertaken.

The motto of Project Phoenix Flight was, "We go in peace for all Dìqiú." This is the story of how we did it, what we found when we got there... and what we saw when we looked back at ourselves.

- Professor Asami Sato
From the Preface to Challenging the Cold Silence


A century after the end of the Hundred-Year War, Dìqiú awaited the next coming of the astrophysical phenomenon known as Sozin's Comet with apprehension, if not outright dread, as people all over the world feared that it posed a threat of renewed instability. Inspired by the speculations of a survivor of the war, Asami Sato, Avatar Korra, and their friends chose to change all that, harnessing the Comet's power instead to make possible a feat that would bring the world together—in astonishment.

Now the United Republic Space Agency's Publications and Public Affairs Office is pleased to present this fully revised and updated Galactic Standard translation of Professor Sato's bestselling memoir, Challenging the Cold Silence: The Inside Story of Project Phoenix Flight. Translated by Professor Sato herself and featuring essays by many of the project's other participants, it remains the definitive work on the project by the person who knew it best.

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