One hundred seventy-five years ago (on February 8th), Jules Verne [
http://JV.Gilead.or…] was born [
http://www.phys.uu.…] in Nantes, France. Inspired by [
http://www.phys.uu.…] a lifelong fascination with machines, Verne wrote [
http://www.math.tec…] visionary works about "Extraordinary Voyages" including such terrestrial travels as Around the World in 80 Days [
http://www.fourmila…], Journey to the Centre of the Earth [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea [
http://etext.lib.vi…VerTwen.html ]. In 1865 he published the story of three adventurers who undertook a journey From the Earth to the Moon [
http://vesuvius.jsc…]. Verne's characters rode a "projectile-vehicle" [
http://www.nasm.edu…julesverne.jpg ] fired from a huge cannon constructed in Florida, USA. Does that sound vaguely familiar? A century later, the Saturn V rocket [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and NASA's Apollo program [
http://www.hq.nasa.…Apollo.html ] finally turned this work of fiction into fact, propelling adventuresome [
http://www.hq.nasa.…cover.html ] trios on what was perhaps Verne's most extraordinary voyage. This dramatic view [
http://www.hq.nasa.…kippsphotos/apollo.h tml ] shows the moonbound Apollo 11 space-vehicle riding top a Saturn V rocket as it blasts skyward. Launched from a spaceport [
http://www.ksc.nasa…] in Florida, the Apollo 11 crew [
http://www.hq.nasa.…biographies.htm ] traveled to the moon and back again in 1969, making humanity's first landing on the lunar surface [
http://www.hq.nasa.…pao/History/alsj/ ].
Explanation
One hundred seventy-five years ago (on February 8th), Jules Verne [
http://JV.Gilead.or…] was born [
http://www.phys.uu.…] in Nantes, France. Inspired by [
http://www.phys.uu.…] a lifelong fascination with machines, Verne wrote [
http://www.math.tec…] visionary works about "Extraordinary Voyages" including such terrestrial travels as Around the World in 80 Days [
http://www.fourmila…], Journey to the Centre of the Earth [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea [
http://etext.lib.vi…VerTwen.html ]. In 1865 he published the story of three adventurers who undertook a journey From the Earth to the Moon [
http://vesuvius.jsc…]. Verne's characters rode a "projectile-vehicle" [
http://www.nasm.edu…julesverne.jpg ] fired from a huge cannon constructed in Florida, USA. Does that sound vaguely familiar? A century later, the Saturn V rocket [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and NASA's Apollo program [
http://www.hq.nasa.…Apollo.html ] finally turned this work of fiction into fact, propelling adventuresome [
http://www.hq.nasa.…cover.html ] trios on what was perhaps Verne's most extraordinary voyage. This dramatic view [
http://www.hq.nasa.…kippsphotos/apollo.h tml ] shows the moonbound Apollo 11 space-vehicle riding top a Saturn V rocket as it blasts skyward. Launched from a spaceport [
http://www.ksc.nasa…] in Florida, the Apollo 11 crew [
http://www.hq.nasa.…biographies.htm ] traveled to the moon and back again in 1969, making humanity's first landing on the lunar surface [
http://www.hq.nasa.…pao/History/alsj/ ].
Explanation
