Rocketship X-M story
A Moon expedition that, through a series of unforeseen events, winds up traveling instead to distant Mars. Once on the Red Planet, its crew discovers the remnants of a Martian civilization destroyed long ago by atomic war and now reverted to barbarism.
7 total · 5 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| extraterrestrial civilization | major | Rocketship X-M lands on Mars and finds a civilization that was destroyed long ago by nuclear war and now reverted to barbarism |
| interplanetary space travel | major | The first manned expedition to the Moon is launched, but it ends up landing on Mars. |
| Martian extraterrestrial | major | Rocketship X-M found a Martian civilization that had destroyed long ago by atomic war and now reverted to barbarism. |
| multistage rocket | major | The multistage nature of the Rocketship X-M was described and shown in some detail. |
| nuclear holocaust | major | Rocketship X-M found a Martian civilization that had destroyed long ago by atomic war and now reverted to barbarism. |
| female independence | minor | Dr. Lisa Van Horn was asked to justify her presence as the only female member of the Rocketship X-M crew. Crewman Floyd Graham suggested she should be content in life to cook and sew and bare children. |
| what if I found myself in a zero gravity environment | minor | Rocketship X-M crew experienced weightlessness on voyage to the Moon. |