''Expedition Venus'' is a juvenile

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, the fifth in Hugh Walters' ''Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A.'' series. It was published in the UK by

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber and Faber (also known as "Faber and Gwyer"), publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet musi ...

in 1962 and in the US by Criterion Books in 1963.

Plot summary

A probe returning from

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

crashes in the African desert; a Venusian

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

on board thrives in its new environment; a grey

mould A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. No ...

quickly spreading and killing all it touches. An urgent crewed mission to Venus is launched from Lunaville, the now permanent

Moon base A moonbase is a facility on the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. As such, it is different from a lunar space station in orbit around the Moon, like the planned Lunar Gateway of the Artemis program. Moonbases can be for ...

. Chris Godfrey, Morrey Kant, Serge Smyslov, Tony Hale and Pierre, a scientist, are sent to try and discover what limits the mould's growth in its natural environment. The plan is to collect samples from the Venusian atmosphere but in the end a forced landing on Venus is required.

References

External links

* 1962 British novels 1962 science fiction novels Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A. series Faber and Faber books Novels set on Venus 1962 children's books {{1960s-ya-novel-stub