"Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" was the title of a series of 1950s magazine articles in ''Collier's'' detailing

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

's plans for manned spaceflight. Edited by

Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author known mainly for writing popular military history. He was especially known for his histories of World War II events: '' The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D- ...

, the individual articles were authored by such space notables of the time as

Willy Ley Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

Fred Lawrence Whipple Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906 – August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory for more than 70 years. Amongst his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries, the "dirty snowball" h ...

, Dr. Joseph Kaplan, Dr. Heinz Haber, and von Braun. The articles were illustrated with paintings and drawings by

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illust ...

, Fred Freeman, and Rolf Klep, some of the finest magazine illustrators of the time. The magazine articles showed earth orbit missions and lunar surface exploration, to be undertaken by large crews in the 1960/70s timeframe. Several concept vehicles were proposed and described in detail, such as a Ferry Rocket, a Space Station, and a

Lunar Lander A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2021, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 19 ...

Legacy

The article series was the basis for three episodes in the ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

'' anthology series: "

Man in Space "Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''Disneyland'' which originally aired on March 9, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. This ''Disneyland'' episode (set in Tomorrowland), was narrated partly by Ki ...

," " Man and the Moon," and " Mars and Beyond." The series was expanded into three books: ''Across the Space Frontier'' (1952), ''Conquest of the Moon'' (1953), and ''The Exploration of Mars'' (1956). Examples of some of the ships they modeled are in the ''World of Collier's'' add-ons to the ''

Orbiter A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...

'' space flight simulator.

Article details

The issues and titles of the articles in ''Collier's'' were: :March 22, 1952: "Man will Conquer Space Soon." ::"What are we waiting for?" pp. 22–23. ::"Crossing the last frontier." pp. 24–29, 72, 74. Dr.

::"A station in space." pp. 30–31.

::"The heavens open." p. 32–33. Dr.

Fred L. Whipple Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906 – August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory for more than 70 years. Amongst his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries, the " dirty snowball" ...

::"This side of infinity." p. 34. Dr. Joseph Kaplan ::"Can we survive in space?" pp. 35, 65–67. Dr. Heinz Haber ::"Who owns the universe?" pp. 36, 70–71. Oscar Schachter ::"Around the Editor's Desk: Space Quiz." pp. 38–39. :October 18, 1952: "Man on the Moon." ::"Man on the Moon." p. 51. The editors ::"The journey." pp. 52–58, 60. Dr.

::"Inside the moon ship." p. 56–60.

:October 25, 1952: "More about Man on the Moon." ::"The exploration." pp. 38–40, 42, 44–48. Dr.

and Dr.

::"Inside the lunar base." p. 46.

:February 28, 1953: "World's First Space Suit." ::"Man's survival in space." pp. 40–41.

and the editors ::"Picking the men." pp. 42–48. :March 7, 1953: "More about Man's Survival in Space." ::"Testing the men." pp. 56–63. :March 14, 1953: "How Man will Meet Emergency in Space Travel." ::"Emergency!" pp. 38–44. :June 27, 1953: "The Baby Space Station: First Step in the Conquest of Space." ::"Baby Space Station." pp. 33–35, 38, 40. Dr.

with

:April 30, 1954: "Is There Life on Mars?" ::"Is there life on Mars?" p. 21. Dr.

::"Can we get to Mars?" pp. 22–29. Dr.

with

Reception

Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...

of ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'' said in 1954 that ''Conquest of Space'' "is just as beautiful, authoritative and exciting as" ''Across the Space Frontier'' and "a breath-taking bargain in every way."

References

External links

The entire Wernher von Braun archive used in the ''Collier'' articles

60th anniversary digital reprinting of ''Colliers'' Space Series
''Houston Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics'' {{Authority control 1952 in science 1952 documents 1953 in science 1953 documents 1954 in science 1954 documents Exploration of the Moon Hugo Award for Best Related Work-winning works Space advocacy Magazine articles Wernher von Braun Works originally published in Collier's

Legacy

Article details

Reception

See also

References

External links