READER’S DIGEST
July• 2019 | 37invented; he masterminded the fast-
est circumnavigation of the globe,
Around the World in 80 Days, be-
fore the aeroplane. He created other
stories in which he imagined with
uncanny accuracy the workings
of rocket missiles and
space satellites.
IN HIS MOON EPIC,
Verne’s calculations
proved to be accurate
because he based them
on the laws of physics
and immutable solidities
of astronomy, the most
ancient of sciences. Mod-
ern technology provided
Apollo 11 with the power
to escape earth’s gravity;
Verne endowed his cap-
sule with the power of his
imagination.
He aimed his capsule
just as Apollo 11 was
aimed, towards the po-
sition where the moon
would be at the time of
arrival. But Verne’s pro-
pulsion power came
not from a missile but
a 274-metre cannon
containing 180 tonnes of guncot-
ton [nitrocellulose]. It was, however,
named the Columbiad. The Apollo 11
command ship was the Columbia.
And nobody who watched the Apollo
blast-off could quibble with Verne’s
1865 description: “An appalling, un-
earthly report followed instantly,
such as can be compared to nothing
whatever known, not even to the roar
of thunder or the blast of volcanic ex-
plosions! An immense spout of fire;
the earth heaved up, and
with great difficulty some
few spectators obtained
a momentary glimpse of
the projectile victoriously
cleaving the air in midst of
the fiery vapours!”
Inside Verne’s space-
craft, the aeronauts re-
laxed on sturdy couches
and cooked meals with
gas. They had as passen-
gers two pet dogs, plus
six chickens. They also
took some cuttings from
Medoc vineyards to plant
on the moon, so as even-
tually to be able to wash
down their chicken din-
ners more palatably.
Verne’s spacemen did
not land on the moon, be-
cause they made a slight
trajection error. (This was
fortunate because the
author had failed to pro-
vide them with Apollo-like space
suits.) But Verne had provided his
heroes with a set of rockets which the
ingenious aeronauts used to conquer
the moon’s gravity and start the
journey back to the Pacific.Verne’s capsule orbited
the moon before
splashing down at seaTHIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN READER’S DIGEST IN NOVEMBER, 1969.