Expedition Ares — by Krafft Ehricke

We live in the age of fast-flying, far-reaching space ships, and are proud of what human ingenuity has achieved in this field. Research is going on with ultra-fast ships, reaching half the velocity of light and designed as powerful instruments for visiting our neighboring stars. But the adult soon forgets the first stumbling steps of childhood, and the first attempts to reach our nearest cosmic vicinity has almost completely vanished from our memory. Looking back through the centuries, we perceive a chain of heroic deeds which mark man’s grasp at other planets. Only 50 years ago, Glenn Wolf’s party landed on Pluto. Their flash light photographs showing the men wading through helium pools amidst fantastic structures of frozen gas which tower into the eternal night, belong to the standard equipment of astronomical books today.