Voyage to the Moon 2111

Details

I recently came across a piece of delightful retro-futurism: a 55-year old slide show produced in Hungary, depicting the journey of a young student to the Moon in the year 2111.

Here is the slide show in its entirety (apart from some damaged slides), along with my English-language translations.

  • Voyage to the Moon in 2111<br>Part One
  • Written by: Károly Gauser<br>Drawings: Sándor Lengyel<br>Editor: Ferenc Szilágyi<br>Hungarian Slide Manufacturing Company<br>Budapest 1960
  • July 14, 2111. ...Artificial television satellites are very busy today. They are transmitting a world broadcast from the main studio of "EUROVISION", the finals of the "WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING?" quiz contest. Surprisingly, Judit, a second-year student of an art college, is solidly in first place. The final question is next...
  • Judit steps on the podium confidently. A lead by one point is not much, but in the finals it may mean victory if she has the correct answer. When she receives the envelope, suddenly she thinks of her parents. Are they watching her?
  • "Our daughter really secured her position, she will be third in the worst case. Even that means a round-the-world trip. But what will be the first prize? This will only be revealed at the end, this has been the custom for some fifty years. Look! I bet she knows the answer!"
  • Judit answers with precision: "The first artificial satellite was launched a century and a half ago, on January 2, 1959 in the Soviet Union. The 1472 kg stage, which reached a velocity of 11.3 km/s, flew by the Moon and became an artificial planet of the Solar System."
  • Judit won the contest. Amidst a storm of applause, she received the grand prize: A seemingly simple envelope. But its contents exceed all imagination: by permit of the "GRAND COUNCIL OF SPACE TRAVEL", the winner can visit the Moon during the summer!
  • At last, the great moment has arrived. Judit is packing, she's trying to take everything along; her mother laughingly warns her, "You are not permitted to take more than 20 kilos anyway! Good heavens, what do you want with that evening dress? There will be no public celebrations on the Moon!"
  • "Be careful then," shouts her mother in farewell from the balcony. "Say hello for me to the Moon-dwellers, and don't catch a cold! They say everyone has the flu over there; it's too hot during the day, and horribly cold at night."
  • No more than half an hour later, their red air-cushioned vehicle is now swooshing by the edge of the airport. "Wow, what a giant machine," wondered the girl, "must be atomic powered, right?" - "Yes, these are used intercontinentally."
  • Her father leaves his little daughter in the care of an attendant. "We will take very good care of her," smiled the pretty brunette, who recognized Judit as the winner of the television contest, as the exciting minutes of the finals were watched by two billion people.
  • Dozens of booster rockets lifted up the colossal hundred-meter airplane arrow-straight in the air. But the deafening thunder was only heard by those outside, as the vehicle's walls perfectly insulated the sound.
  • They left behind old Europe. The machine flew over a seemingly infinite sea. Judit traveled a lot already, but now she was anxious. This voyage will be different from the rest...
  • Two hours later she caught a glimpse of their terrestrial destination. She saw slender rockets, assembly towers, gigantic radar dishes in the desert. She knew these from film. "Reality, however, is different," she thought to herself.
  • They arrived at one of the largest rocket launch sites of the Earth. This is where the brave explorers of space, the Columbuses of the void begin their journeys. The thirty-storey tall rockets are lining up here, side by side, like giants from a fairy tale.
  • Judit, the "little scientist" as she was nicknamed by the commander of the spaceport, rushed to her room to call her parents for the last time on the vidiphone.
  • "Aren't you afraid?" asked her father with a smile on the screen. Judit explained to him at length what she learned from the astronauts: there were no accidents in the past fifty years on an Earth-Moon trip. In any case, she flew a lot already. And there is barely any difference between contemporary airplanes and rockets...
  • After saying good-bye, she stepped to the window, deep in thoughts. She thought about her companion from the afternoon, the young space officer who showed her the launch facilities. His name is Mark... The destination of her voyage, the Moon, shone through the window, and a space station majestically traversed the sky as a bright star.
  • "I wonder which one will be ours?" Judit asked herself as she, now wearing a spacesuit, approached the line of rockets with her companions. "Launch in twenty minutes," repeated one of the space pilots, "every instrument still needs to be checked."
  • An express elevator propelled them up. "Let's hurry, 'little scientist'," Mark, an officer of the space fleet, urged him jokingly, "time is ticking. The tanks are full and they will tow away the assembly tower in a minute."
  • "Up front is the automatic control, the start indicator is in the center..." Judit interrupted, "I'd like to know how we can see outside if there are no windows on the rocket?" - "These are indeed not windows, but electronic screens."
  • Start in one minute! Judit and her companions are awaiting the great moment lying on their backs. The tower elevator already disappeared from the shimmering screens, their connections with the outside world all severed, and only a hidden microphone is heard: "...five...four...three...two...one..."
  • "...start!" Judit felt as though her heartbeat was louder than the engines' thundering blast... The red flames from the exhausts paled to bluish-white, and the rocket was rising ever faster. Judit began her journey toward a world that she saw as full of secrets...
  • Velocity 4 km/s, the blue ocean of air disappared, stars were shining brightly on a jet black sky, 400 km beneath them Africa was stretching out, hidden in clouds... The rocket is also smaller; two of its stages were already ejected as they completed their tasks.
  • "This is wonderful! One screen shows the Moon, the Sun is shining in the other... and what's that, on the third one?" - "That's us, our rocket can be seen like this from afar," explained Mark. "An automated television satellite 'sees' us like this, and rebroadcasts the image back to us."
  • "Oh Mark, this is horrible! The controls have failed, we are lost, we are not flying towards the Moon!" - "Keep calm, that is not our destination. First, we will visit the 'Tsiolkovsky' space station, and there we will transfer to a real Moon rocket. This is just a kind of a 'shuttle flight'"...
  • "Good eye, little scientist, you immediately noticed the real destination, even though it is not easy to nagivate in space," nodded Mark approvingly when the microphone came to life: "Space station on central screen, altitude: 1759 km, velocity: 7.08 km/s, arrival in 80 seconds. Be prepared!"
  • "Space station Tsiolkovsky, transfer to the Cosmos, disembark in one minute," joked Judit. "Tsiolkovsky, Goddard and Oberth, they were the great pioneers of space travel, the space stations were named after them, right?"
  • "This is no longer a quiz show, little scientist, this is real space. Put on your helmet and turn on your radio." A soundless jolt indicated that 12 minutes after departure from the Earth, they arrived without trouble.
  • Judit watched with awe the giant, rotating disk of the space station, which was assembled back in the middle of the previous century from 400 components. A strange feeling got the better of her. She felt solid ground under her feet... but still, this is no longer the Earth...
  • Mark vividly explained, "This is one of the greatest products of the human mind. We stand now on a tiny sliver of the Earth: we have here laboratories, astronomical, meteorological stations. Every compartment is a perfectly insulated, independent tiny world... but let us proceed!"
  • "OK, Judit, why is the space station rotating?" - "Because complete weightlessness must be avoided! Centrifugal force produces 10-20% of our terrestrial weight." - "Good answer. Just look at this winter garden, what wonderful orchids! And there, the space station's cat is purring..."
  • End of Part One
  • Hungarian Slide Manufacturing Company<br>Budapest V. Veres Pálné street 9.<br>Number of slides: 34, Item number: MS 0048, Price: 13.50
  • Voyage to the Moon in 2111<br>Part Two
  • Written by: Károly Gauser<br>Drawings: Sándor Lengyel<br>Editor: Ferenc Szilágyi<br>Hungarian Slide Manufacturing Company<br>Budapest 1960
  • Judit was just trying to ask something when an alarm bell sounded: "Moon rocket is departing in 6 minutes 44 seconds; passengers to assemble on platform two." - "Mark, you must also be coming, right? Not that I am afraid... but you know, this is the first time that I am embarking on such a grand voyage..."
  • Judit and Mark were standing on a balcony of the celestial transfer station. "Don't worry, we are not on Earth, you cannot fall down!" Mark's voice sounded metallic over the radio. Judit stared down into the dizzying depths but felt no fear.
  • "This is not an atomic rocket?" asked Judit disappointedly. "No. On this short stretch, chemical propulsion is perfectly adequate." - "But I wanted to see a real atomic rocket, one that has been to the edge of the Solar System!"
  • A few minutes later, gentle shaking indicated the start of the engines. The rocket slowly departed the space station and began its journey towards the Moon.
  • "This is the destination, Judit. There you will be able to see atomic rockets and everything else that you did not even dream of." Judit watched the screen. Mark smiled secretively, "You may even expect a surprise or two..."
  • After some minutes that appeared infinite, the loudspeaker came to life: "Engines off, velocity 10.3 kilometers, departure accomplished..."
  • "Don't think that the question in the finals was by accident. Tomorrow, Luna I will pass by the Moon and you, too, will be able to look at it through a telescope." Judit's eyes brightened, "Oh, what a surprise!"
  • Mark was telling stories throughout the voyage. He spoke about the eternal gloom of Venus, the violet-colored clouds of Mars, the silent expanses of rock on the Moon, the green-backed Earth hidden beneath clouds, awaiting back every astronaut.
  • Suddenly Judit felt nauseous and grabbed the seat. "We are falling!" she shouted in alarm. "Shame on you, little scientist, it is not possible to fall in space," laughed Mark. "Don't worry, just a little space tumble... the auxiliary engines turned the rocket around... and why did you unbuckle your belt?"
  • The rocket approaching the Moon sought contact with the Moon city: "Attention, Moonbase, attention. Moon rocket MX 2 reporting; altitude 4800, velocity 3 kilometers, flying over the the Sea of Rains. Can you see us? Please reply, we are now receiving..."
  • "OK, this went smoothly," said Judit when they looked back at the rocket, standing abandoned. "Strange, this dust that covers everything; they say it was discovered by Hungarian scientists in the middle of the 20th century... I move so lightly like a butterfly! How about you?"
  • Judit could not have enough of the beauties of the dead landscape. She was staring at the jagged mountains. "Why is it like [...]"
  • "This is lunar vehicle B-25, we are approaching airlock three, please prepare for entry," Mark communicated their arrival to the radio center of the Moonbase via shortwave radio.
  • The outer door of the airlock opened automatically in front of them. They entered the tunnel and stopped before the inner gate. The outer lock then closed and the inner opened. There are no "single door" exits on the Moon, because the most precious treasure of the Moon would immediately escape: air, continuously scrubbed by complicated equipment. Wherever men from the Earth find themselves, their knowledge and resourcefulness create the necessities of life. Life flourishes under the plastic dome of Moon city...
  • "Enjoy yourself, little lady, and learn a lot," said the commander of Moon city, greeting Judit. "As long as possible, Mark will serve as your guide; I see you understand each other well. You will be staying here on 'Pioneer' street..."
  • I am jumping about like a silly grasshopper. I cannot anticipate my movements; I always forget that I weigh one sixth my terrstrial weight." Mark smiled, "It's only unusual at first, by tomorrow you will be like a Moon native."
  • Judit had rested and, six hours later by terrestrial time, together with Mark they took an excursion to the countryside. "This is a station of the lunar radar chain; these dish antennas maintain radio contact with the Earth and spaceships."
  • "This is where the first man landed on the Moon in the second half of the 20th century. This is how they were memorialized for posterity. A little further north is where the first automated rocket, Luna 2, landed on the surface on September 13, 1959." Judit was listening to Mark's explanations in awe.
  • "Too much force, little lady," laughed Mark, ", you will feel too warm in the end. Turn on the dissipator; it's that red button on the side, it will dissipate the excess heat. And don't look at the Sun all the time, it's harmful to the eyes; here, even protective glasses are not enough."
  • Judit and Mark visited the Moon's largest observatory. This giant reflecting telescope was built in the 21st century, and it was the one that first showed humanity a real, distortion-free image of the Universe.
  • "And now comes the Earth," pointed the astronomer at a screen. We are seeing details of the Atlantic; a nuclear powered white ocean liner is approaching the coast of Europe.
  • And now we switch to the dark side of the Earth. The night lights of cities are glittering through a bluish-black curtain of vapor. "There, that blob of right on the right is the city of your birth, Judit. Do you recognize it?"
  • Not much later, they returned to Moon city; a scientist in the vehicle mentioned the sensational news of the next day, the Luna probe passing by the Moon; tomorrow, everyone would be able to see it through the telescope of the great observatory.
  • Judit really became a bit tired, went to bed early. She dreamed about the Earth, her home. The curious Earth -- four times bigger on the lunar sky than the Moon, as seen by us -- shone through the window of her room.
  • The next day, an entire caravan of lunar vehicles assembled at airlock two. Destination: the observatory! In just a half hour, they will all be eyewitnesses to this rare, "world historical" moment.
  • "Strange. Where is Mark?" thought Judit, wondering. "He disappeared without a word. Maybe he left by himself for another planet? No, he could not have done that." Suddenly she felt that without Mark's interesting explanations, the Moon became a little more faded, more boring.
  • In the quiet of the projection room, they heard the words of the lead astronomer: "Rocket W 13 is leaving in the direction of the aproaching Luna; final velocity 1335 meters, angle of deflection three-hundred-thirty-one arc-seconds, lunar approach in..."
  • Thousands of stars shone on the screen when finally, Luna appeared in the form of a yellow dot. "No course deviation, can you hear us, W 13?" and then continued without waiting for an answer, "Engine shutoff; match course with Luna!"
  • "W 13 reporting... contact in 14 seconds... executing commands" Judit was joyful as she recognized Mark's voice. "This is him, right? And he has a real atomic rocket?" she asked those standing nearby.
  • "The atomic rocket captures Luna, brings it to the Moon, from here we will bring it to the Earth and leave it in the Museum of Natural Sciences of the United States of Earth..."
  • It could have orbited the Sun for millions of years but our descendants bring Luna back to the Earth, as a permanent memorial to those 20th century Soviet scientists whose rocket first broke the chains of the Earth's gravity.
  • Before the Moon's two-week long freezing night began, Judit headed back to Earth with memories for a lifetime. "Good-bye! Be proud that you are traveling home together with Luna. Very few people can say that..."
  • It's autumn again in Europe, the school year began. The teacher's voice alerts Judit, who was still reminiscing about her lunar experiences. "Next week, we will be visiting the Natural Museum, and Judit will be our guide!"
  • "... and then Mark, my friend, major of the space fleet, caught up with Luna and captured it with the rocket. This went smoothly as everything is weightless there and... and now it's here. We traveled together all the way home", explained Judit with sparks in her eyes.
  • In the evening, she was looking at bright Venus and thought about Mark. "They say, he is somewhere there, with a real atomic ship." For a moment, she imagined the slender rocket in the sky but her gaze got lost in the infinite distance. And then she remembered her homework for the next day...
  • The End
  • Hungarian Slide Manufacturing Company<br>Budapest V. Veres Pálné street 9.<br>Slide showroom<br>Budapest V. Váci street 34. Telephone: 380-506<br>Retail outlet: II. Martirok boulevard 67. T: 155-551<br>Number of slides: 39, Item number: MS 0108, Price: 18.80
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