The alternative is to try.

Apollo 13 probably seemed pretty hopeless. They didn't just say "sorry fellas, maybe you'll get lucky and make it, good luck."

The late great Bob Hoover said, "If you’re faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible." You keep trying until you can't anymore.

Saying "well, maybe they'll survive," and not even telling them, is not the move when you have nearly a month to figure something out.