Top-5 Thursday-Early Space Adventures

Science fiction seems to have a fixation with the final frontier. Even before the Space Race, Star Trek, and Star Wars, enterprising authors sent their characters to the stars. (Yes, enterprising. There’s another Star Trek pun I can...Chekov my list. Not even sorry).

Here is a list of some of the most interesting, and influential space stories from the early days of the genre.

5. “The Brick Moon” by Edward Everett Hale (1869)-

This short story written in the form of a journal was the first to describe an inhabited, artificial satellite. It accounts the marvelous journey of people accidentally launched into space with the brick sphere they constructed as a navigational tool.

4. “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall” by Edgar Allan Poe (1835)-

Intended by Poe to be released as a true account, and later revealed as a hoax, this satirical piece of fiction describes the journey of the titular Hans Pfaall to the moon in a balloon that converted the vacuum of space into breathable air.

3. Lumen by Camille Flammarion (1872)-

A dialogue framed in a work of highly philosophical fiction, Lumen speculates about the existence and nature of extraterrestrial life, and makes rather accurate assumptions about the speed of light.

2. A Voyage to the Moon by George Tucker (1827)-

Not only the earliest space adventure on this list, but also one of America’s oldest works of science fiction, George Tucker’s A Voyage to the Moon, described a Lunarian civilization that satirized the politicians and scientists of its time.

1. From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (1865)-

It had to be Verne, didn’t it? Yes, it did. Not only was this novel one of the most influential space adventures of its time, it also described the process of getting to the moon in a nearly realistic way… As I’ve already described on this blog multiple times.

So, there are some precursors to the inspiring space age stories we know and love. Have you read any of them? Are you inspired to? I’d love to hear any thoughts in the comments!

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora