''The Conquest of Space'' is a

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book written by

David Lasser David Lasser (March 20, 1902 – May 5, 1996) was an American writer and political activist. Lasser is remembered as one of the most influential figures of early science fiction writing, working closely with Hugo Gernsback. He was also heavily in ...

in 1930 and self-published in 1931. It was the first book written in English that presented

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

ry and

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in or ...

in a serious manner. The book profiles a fictional journey to

the Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the List of natural satellites, fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth ( ...

to explain the science of rocketry as it stood in 1931. It uses contemporary knowledge on rockets to create a reasonable description of the hardware necessary to make spaceflight possible. The book was out of print until 2002, when it was republished by Apogee Books. , the book remains in print. According to the

Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is a website created by lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower that traces the origin of terms in science fiction literature. The website launched in January, 2021. Background The genesis for the site was the '' ...

, it contains the earliest known use of the word "astrogator".

Reception

The book was generally well received. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated on January 10, 1932 that "despite its literary and artistic faults the book cannot but capture the imagination of a reader interested in science."

Harold Horton Sheldon Harold Horton Sheldon (April 13, 1893 – December 23, 1964) was a Canadian-American physicist, scientist, inventor, teacher, editor and author. He was a science editor who wrote on futuristic subjects, especially pertaining to human space travel. ...

wrote the original introduction to the 1931 edition. Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the introduction to the 2002 edition, said that the book "was one of the turning points in islife." Despite being published in 1931, it "still stands up to scrutiny" for many of its predictions in rocketry. However, other predictions appear to Larry McGlynn as "quaint" and "naive", among them the use of rockets solely for peaceful purposes.

References

1931 non-fiction books Spaceflight books Self-published books {{space-book-stub