BY ROCKET TO THE MOON

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1928, Page 4

BY ROCKET TO THE MOON

PARIS Febrtuiry 1. A parliament ol" scientists met in Paris this afternoun to discuss the feasibility of shooting the moon, or Mars or Venus, as the case may be. It had been called by M. Robert lis-nault-Pelterie, the well-known- french engineer and pioneer in aviation, who made it clear that lie did not think the 478,000-miles voyage to the moon and (back was possible at the moment, oi - even perhaps before many centuries of research, but he was convinced that the progress of science would make it possible some day. M. Esnault Pelterie’s idea is that it will be possible to fly to the moon and back (without landing on the moon), to observe it closely on the round trip, and to settle safely on the earth once more. Jules Verne's romantic idea of firing a projectile at the muon had to be ruled out. be said, for numerous reasons. The projectile would require an initial velocity of about 14.C0D yards a second, and no explosive was known which could detonate at this speed—quite apart from propelling another body. IIYDIiOG ICX I> R OPF.I -LA XT. But navigation between one planet and another is theoretically possible, said M. Esnaiilt-l’elterie. The scheme of attaining this objective he outlined briefly as follows: The ohjecr propelled from our earth mlist- be of rocket shape, it would seem tlinl the most. likely propellant would be atomic hydrogen, out of every 12 tons of which, including its container, one toil would remain after a voyage to I lie moon and back. A rocket, theoretically, could be propelled with gradually increasing velocity, and once it had arrived beyond the earth’s atmosphere it would no humor risk any danger from incandescence until ii. struck flic atmosphere of another planet. The propellant’s gases Mould be used as a brake in landing, the braking increasing progressively as the speed diminished juid the resistance of tlie atmosphere increased.