First Stop

Man will someday leave the Earth. No one witnessing the marvels of today’s science can really seriously doubt this mild premise. As certain as Man learned to cross the seas, as certain as he learned to build wings with which he left the ground, he will leave the Earth for Space.

The question then is not, “Will he?”

It is, “When will he?”

This story is set thirty years in the future. The date is 1983, and Man is attempting his first trip to the Moon. By that time, the Space Station described in the following chapters should be a reality. In fact, thirty years seems like an outside guess in view of the amazing strides science has taken in the past decade.

It is logical that Man’s first trip into Space should be made to our own satellite, and nearest heavenly neighbor, the Moon.

In comparison to the planets in our solar system, the Moon is a stone’s throw away: a mere mean distance of 238,857 miles. Compare this to Venus which, when at her closest to Earth, is still 25,000,000 miles away-or Mars, whose distance from the Earth ranges between 35,000,000 and 63,000,000 miles when the two planets are in opposition.

Or think of the Sun, which is approximately 93,000,000 miles away!

There can be no question that the Moon will be our first stop on the road to the planets.

In the following pages, I have tried to picture some of the problems which may confront our first Moon explorers. These problems are based on facts now available about the Moon.

In the near future, all these facts will be checked at first-hand, by space-suited men roaming the surface of the Moon.

The sons of today will be those men.

And for their sons?

The planets... and the stars!

R. M.