On September 29, 1979, the Interstellar Exploration Agency launches a Japanese rocket ship, the
JX-1 Hawk, into space on a nine-month journey to investigate
Saturn. At its conclusion, however, the crew is given a new mission after scientists discover that a
runaway star, which the
International Astronomical Union nicknamed "Gorath", is somehow running amok. Upon encountering and while investigating Gorath's rapid movement through the
Solar System, the
JX-1 Hawk crew discover that it is smaller than Earth, yet has 6,000 times its gravity. They manage to transmit their data back to Earth before an enormous
gravity well destroys the ship, killing the crew. A month later in 1980, astronomers and astrophysicists throughout the international community announce that Gorath will collide with the Earth in two years' time. At the
United Nations, a gathering of Earth's top scientists attempts to resolve the situation by pooling together large amounts of technical advancements they made in the past two decades. After a debriefing, the scientific community reveals the South Pole Operation, which involves a base in Antarctica designed to house a large international team of engineers and scientists and the construction of huge "
mega-thrusters" which will propel the Earth out of Gorath's path within 100 days and move Earth back once the danger has passed. The U.N. approves and sends the prototype sub-light spacecraft
JX-2 Eagle into space to obtain further data on Gorath. Construction on the South Pole Operation base goes underway as ships and helicopters from several nations bring in building materials and powerful, mobile heat-generating devices known as atomic burrowers are quickly cobbled together to assist in creating the caverns required to house the mega-thrusters. Meanwhile, the
JX-2 Eagle crew succeeds in its mission, learning that Gorath is absorbing space debris within its gravity well to continuously add to its mass, and transmit the data to U.N. space stations. On Earth, the mega-thrusters are activated for a test run while citizens from around the world watch on a live broadcast. As the Earth gently moves, the South Pole Operation is hailed as a success. The
JX-2 Eagle and space stations learn of this development and are ordered to return to deny Gorath more mass. However, the heat generated by the mega-thrusters causes a giant,
walrus-like monster later named "
Maguma" to emerge from the tundra and attack the South Pole Operation base in response to their intrusion. In response, a small
VTOL aircraft is equipped with a powerful laser to stop Maguma. Determined to do so without killing the monster, the pilot uses the laser to create an avalanche and bury it. However, Maguma easily escapes and resumes its attack, leaving the crew with little choice but to kill it. As Gorath absorbs Saturn's rings, the
JX-2 Eagle crew successfully returns to Earth. As the enormous celestial body becomes visible to the naked eye, its
tidal interaction with Earth wreaks havoc on coastal areas and a state of emergency is declared. Gorath absorbs and obliterates the Moon. It also floods Tokyo and the mega-thrusters with the rising tides and causes an earthquake that destroys the
JX-2 Eagle and the Interstellar Exploration Agency's
Mount Fuji facility. In spite of these disasters, the plan to move Earth out of Gorath's path is successful, and the planet escapes destruction. ==Cast==