On this day in 1950, the landmark science-fiction film, “Destination Moon” opened on the United States. Produced by the legendary George Pal and co-written by Robert Heinlein, the story follows a group of American industrialists, scientists, and engineers who build the world’s first lunar rocket and attempt a manned voyage to the Moon. Unlike most science fiction films of that era, “Destination Moon” emphasized realistic spaceflight, weightlessness, spacesuits, and engineering challenges rather than bug-eyed monsters or alien invasions. The astronauts successfully land on the Moon but discover… Uh-Oh! — they may not have enough fuel to return home, and is widely regarded as one of the first serious cinematic treatments of space travel, helping to launch the science-fiction boom of the 1950s.
While “Destination Moon” is not based on any specific Heinlein story, it is very much his voice and vision, which you can see in stories like “The Man Who Sold the Moon”, about an aging businessman determined to finance and promote the first trip to the Moon.
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