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Destination Moon (Tintin)
Encyclopedia
Destination Moon is the sixteenth of The Adventures of Tintin
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
, featuring young reporter Tintin
as a hero. Destination Moon is the first part of one of the four multi-book stories in the Tintin series, the other part being Explorers on the Moon
(On a marché sur la Lune).
It is one of two latter-day Tintin albums (the other being The Castafiore Emerald
) that is not structured as a straightforward adventure story ; instead, it is an episodic sequence of events surrounding the development of a moon rocket. There is, however, a subplot involving espionage to hold the episodes together.
has been secretly commissioned by the Syldavia
n government to build a rocket ship
that will fly from the Earth to the Moon
. Tintin and Captain Haddock
agree to join the expedition, even though Captain Haddock shows considerable reluctance. Upon arriving in Syldavia, they are taken to the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, called simply "the Centre", headed by Mr. Baxter, an engineer. They are escorted by the "ZEPO" (Zekrett Politzs), a special security force charged with protecting the Centre from outside threats. While working for Syldavia, Calculus is assisted by engineer Frank Wolff, who works in the Centre, and accompanies Tintin and Haddock around the facility. Prof. Calculus reveals that the Syldavian government invited nuclear physicists from other countries to work at the Centre, which was created four years earlier when large uranium deposits were discovered in the area. The Centre is entirely dedicated to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Calculus heads the Centre's astronautics
department, since this is his primary area of expertise.
An unmanned subscale prototype of the rocket — the "X-FLR6", resembling a V-2 rocket
— is launched on a circumlunar mission to photograph the far side of the Moon
, as well as test Professor Calculus's revolutionary nuclear rocket engine
. The rocket successfully orbits the moon. But then it is intercepted by the foreign power; the leaked information concerned the rocket's radio control. However, Tintin had anticipated this and asked Calculus to rig a destruct mechanism for the rocket. The Centre has no choice but to use it and destroy the rocket. As the compound is heavily secured, there must have been a spy
who leaked information through the grille, but no suspects are found.
Despite this setback, preparations are made for the moon trip – the rocket's engine still having been confirmed as viable even if they were unable to access the data it gathered – and the equipment is tested. While testing one of the space suits, Captain Haddock becomes frustrated and accuses Calculus of "acting the goat" (a line that would become famous in the Tintin series), causing Calculus to go into a fit of anger. He leads them out of the complex — breaking every security rule in the book — and to the site of the moon rocket which is in near completion. While taking Haddock and Tintin through the rocket's interior, he falls down a ladder and suffers temporary memory loss. Haddock caringly — and unwittingly — attempts helps him recover, using British redcoat soldier costumes, trick cameras, water guns, fire crackers, and even a ghost costume. When his attempts elicit no reaction whatsoever, Haddock angrily says he will not be "acting the goat", which makes Calculus recover his memory in a fit of rage.
Preparations are made for a manned flight, and the full-scale rocket is completed. Finally, on June 3, 1952, at 1:34 a.m., the rocket takes off for the Moon with Tintin, Haddock, Calculus and Wolff aboard.
The story continues in Explorers on the Moon
.
, advisor to Hergé during the creation of the moon exploration albums. Heuvelmans' script took place in the USA and included Professor Phostle from The Shooting Star
, this time as a villain. Phostle steals the plans for Calculus' rocket and sells them in order to buy a diamond for the actress Rita Hayworth
. After drawing two pages of this story, in which a radio interview with Calculus goes wrong because of his deafness, Hergé dropped the script in favour of his own storyline.
before the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing
and several years before manned space flight
. Hergé was keen to ensure that the books were scientifically accurate, based on ideas about space flight then available (see above). Professor Calculus explains that his nuclear rocket engine essentially works like a slowly exploding nuclear fission
bomb. The engine is able to withstand the extreme heat and radiation, since it is made of "calculon", a silicon
-based, extremely heat-resistant material also invented by the professor. However, the deadly radioactivity
produced by the engine would pollute the launch and landing area, hence the rocket is also equipped with a conventional chemical rocket engine. (The X-FLR6 is said to use aniline
and nitric acid
propellants.) The nuclear engine is only used above 800 km altitude in space and produces a constant acceleration of one Earth gravity.
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, featuring young reporter Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
as a hero. Destination Moon is the first part of one of the four multi-book stories in the Tintin series, the other part being Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon, published in 1954, is the seventeenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. Its original French title is On a marché sur la Lune...
(On a marché sur la Lune).
It is one of two latter-day Tintin albums (the other being The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald is an album in the classic comic-strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
) that is not structured as a straightforward adventure story ; instead, it is an episodic sequence of events surrounding the development of a moon rocket. There is, however, a subplot involving espionage to hold the episodes together.
Synopsis
Tintin's friend Professor CalculusProfessor Calculus
Professor Cuthbert Calculus is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
has been secretly commissioned by the Syldavia
Syldavia
Syldavia is a fictional Balkan kingdom featured in The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. The name was derived from TranSYLvania and MolDAVIA.-Overview:...
n government to build a rocket ship
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
that will fly from the Earth to the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Tintin and Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
agree to join the expedition, even though Captain Haddock shows considerable reluctance. Upon arriving in Syldavia, they are taken to the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, called simply "the Centre", headed by Mr. Baxter, an engineer. They are escorted by the "ZEPO" (Zekrett Politzs), a special security force charged with protecting the Centre from outside threats. While working for Syldavia, Calculus is assisted by engineer Frank Wolff, who works in the Centre, and accompanies Tintin and Haddock around the facility. Prof. Calculus reveals that the Syldavian government invited nuclear physicists from other countries to work at the Centre, which was created four years earlier when large uranium deposits were discovered in the area. The Centre is entirely dedicated to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Calculus heads the Centre's astronautics
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
department, since this is his primary area of expertise.
An unmanned subscale prototype of the rocket — the "X-FLR6", resembling a V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
— is launched on a circumlunar mission to photograph the far side of the Moon
Far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned away, and is not visible from the surface of the Earth. The far hemisphere was first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959, and was first directly observed by human eyes when the Apollo 8 mission orbited the Moon...
, as well as test Professor Calculus's revolutionary nuclear rocket engine
Nuclear thermal rocket
In a nuclear thermal rocket a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor, and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. In this kind of thermal rocket, the nuclear reactor's energy replaces the chemical energy of the propellant's...
. The rocket successfully orbits the moon. But then it is intercepted by the foreign power; the leaked information concerned the rocket's radio control. However, Tintin had anticipated this and asked Calculus to rig a destruct mechanism for the rocket. The Centre has no choice but to use it and destroy the rocket. As the compound is heavily secured, there must have been a spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
who leaked information through the grille, but no suspects are found.
Despite this setback, preparations are made for the moon trip – the rocket's engine still having been confirmed as viable even if they were unable to access the data it gathered – and the equipment is tested. While testing one of the space suits, Captain Haddock becomes frustrated and accuses Calculus of "acting the goat" (a line that would become famous in the Tintin series), causing Calculus to go into a fit of anger. He leads them out of the complex — breaking every security rule in the book — and to the site of the moon rocket which is in near completion. While taking Haddock and Tintin through the rocket's interior, he falls down a ladder and suffers temporary memory loss. Haddock caringly — and unwittingly — attempts helps him recover, using British redcoat soldier costumes, trick cameras, water guns, fire crackers, and even a ghost costume. When his attempts elicit no reaction whatsoever, Haddock angrily says he will not be "acting the goat", which makes Calculus recover his memory in a fit of rage.
Preparations are made for a manned flight, and the full-scale rocket is completed. Finally, on June 3, 1952, at 1:34 a.m., the rocket takes off for the Moon with Tintin, Haddock, Calculus and Wolff aboard.
The story continues in Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon
Explorers on the Moon, published in 1954, is the seventeenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. Its original French title is On a marché sur la Lune...
.
Origin
A first version of the script was written by Bernard HeuvelmansBernard Heuvelmans
Bernard Heuvelmans was a Belgian-French scientist, explorer, researcher, and a writer probably best known as "the father of cryptozoology"...
, advisor to Hergé during the creation of the moon exploration albums. Heuvelmans' script took place in the USA and included Professor Phostle from The Shooting Star
The Shooting Star
The Shooting Star is the tenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip books that were written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
, this time as a villain. Phostle steals the plans for Calculus' rocket and sells them in order to buy a diamond for the actress Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
. After drawing two pages of this story, in which a radio interview with Calculus goes wrong because of his deafness, Hergé dropped the script in favour of his own storyline.
Representation of space travel
Destination Moon was written 19 yearsbefore the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
and several years before manned space flight
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
. Hergé was keen to ensure that the books were scientifically accurate, based on ideas about space flight then available (see above). Professor Calculus explains that his nuclear rocket engine essentially works like a slowly exploding nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
bomb. The engine is able to withstand the extreme heat and radiation, since it is made of "calculon", a silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
-based, extremely heat-resistant material also invented by the professor. However, the deadly radioactivity
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles . The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any physical interaction with another particle from outside the atom...
produced by the engine would pollute the launch and landing area, hence the rocket is also equipped with a conventional chemical rocket engine. (The X-FLR6 is said to use aniline
Aniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...
and nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
propellants.) The nuclear engine is only used above 800 km altitude in space and produces a constant acceleration of one Earth gravity.
External links
- Destination Moon at Tintinologist.org