I use several images and examples from the works of Jules Verne during our futures discussions in #hkuiom. Here are some interesting facts from his 1865 novel ‘From the Earth to the Moon’.
A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceship,Columbia, took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon.
- Verne estimated that the mission would have cost his day’s equivalent to $12.1 billion ($5,446,675 US dollars in 1865). Surprisingly spot on–the Apollo program up through Apollo 8 (the first manned vehicle to circumnavigate the moon) cost $14.4 billion.
- The launch occurred 132 miles from the site of Verne’s prediction.
- The United States would launch the first manned vehicle to circumnavigate the moon.
from Skip Henk and astronautix
From the Earth to the Moon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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