"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–American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and '' Allgemeine SS'', the leading figure in the development of ...

's plans for

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

. Edited by

Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish 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-Day'' (19 ...

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

Willy Ley Willy Otto Oskar Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German and American science writer and proponent of space exploration and cryptozoology. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor. Early life and Berlin y ...

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. Among his achievements were asteroid and comet discoveries, the " dirty snowball" hy ...

, Dr.

Joseph Kaplan Joseph Kaplan (September 8, 1902 – October 3, 1991) was a Hungarian-born American physicist. ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130719093953/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-10-13/news/1991286049_1_perry-ellis-museum-of-art-guggenheim-museum Balt ...

, Dr. Heinz Haber, and von Braun. The articles were illustrated with paintings and drawings by Chesley Bonestell, 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 Lander (spacecraft), spacecraft designed to Moon landing, land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing s ...

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 ::"This side of infinity." p. 34. Dr. Joseph Kaplan ::"Can we survive in space?" pp. 35, 65–67. Dr.

Heinz Haber Heinz Haber (May 15, 1913 in Mannheim – February 13, 1990 in Hamburg) was a German physicist and science writer who primarily became known for his TV programs and books about physics and environmental subjects. His lucid style of explainin ...

::"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. Fred L. Whipple 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. Fred L. Whipple ::"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 improvement ...

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 Edi ...

'' 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."

Legacy

The article series was the basis for three episodes in the ''Disneyland anthology series'': "

Man in Space "Man in Space" is an episode of the American television series ''Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and th ...

," "

Man and the Moon "Man and the Moon" is an episode of ''Disneyland'', which originally aired on December 28, 1955. It was directed by Disney animator Ward Kimball. The show begins with a humorous look with a man's fascination with the Moon through animation. T ...

," and "

Mars and Beyond "Mars and Beyond" is an episode of ''Disneyland'' which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. The show was also r ...

." 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 that is designed to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, ...

'' space flight simulator.

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 Book–winning works Space advocacy Magazine articles Wernher von Braun Works originally published in Collier's

Article details

Reception

Legacy

See also

References

External links