James Nasmyth

From the Earth to the Moon: 1865/1968

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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How does science fiction become science fact? Often the link between art and science can be hard to pin down. It can be unclear if science fiction is actually influencing science or merely observing it, giving the public sneak peaks into the implications of scientist's work. But some work of science fiction create direct links to the future. As a young man in Russia, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky read a translation of Jules Verne's 'From the Earth to the Moon." And although Verne's plan to get to the moon wouldn't have worked, the novel had just enough science mixed in with its romance to make the central idea seem plausible. Tsiolkovsky became obsessed with the idea of spaceflight, and his life's work created the foundations of modern rocketry. One hundred years after Verne wrote his novel, a group of individuals who had been inspired by Verne's fantasy as children launched a voyage to the moon. Additional Image Credits: Illustrations from From the Earth to the Moon by Henri de Montaut: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Illustrations_from_%27From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon%27_by_Henri_de_Montaut Illustrations from Around the Moon by Bayard and Neuville: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Illustrations_from_Around_the_Moon_by_Bayard_and_Neuville Apollo 3d Model by mesapilgrim: (Under CC BY License) http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/46564 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 1874 Moon Crater Illustration by James Nasmyth: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001700463/ Black and White Earthrise, Apollo 8. Image Credit, NASA: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS8-13-2329.jpg Apollo 17 Command Module Recovery. Image Credit, NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo17/html/s72-56147.html Apollo 10 Flight Profile. Image Credit, NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo10/html/s69-34071.html Apollo 8 & 11 Footage, Image Credit NASA + The National Archives + National Archives and Records Administration: https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.1257628 Full New York Times 1920 Quotation: http://astronauticsnow.com/blazingthetrail/gruntman_btt_pages/gruntman_blazingthetrail_p_117.pdf Apollo 8 Audio. Credit, NASA: https://archive.org/details/Apollo8Highlights