Destination Moon

Destination Moon
Author(s)	Hergé
Dates of Publication	March 30, 1950 - September 7, 1950 / April 9, 1952 - October 22, 1952
Published in	Tintin magazine
Published as book	1953
English translation	1959
Preceded by	Land of Black Gold
Followed by	Explorers on the Moon

Destination Moon is a 1953 book in The Adventures of Tintin comic by Hergé. It was the follow up to Land of Black Gold. Like most Tintin books, it is 62 pages long and the illustrations are in colour. The book has two parts and was very successful, adding to the fame of Tintin. The same year the next part of the book came out.

Plot

Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock return to Marlinspike only to find that Professor Cuthbert Calculus has gone to Syldavia. After receiving a questioning phone call and a telegram from Calculus, they hop on from Marlinspike to catch the next plane to Klow, the capital of Syldavia.

The trio is greeted by the ZEPO-Zecreti Polizte, who have been ordered to escort them to Calculus's location. They are closely observed by Miller and Baron at the terminal. After a long drive from Klow involving numerous checkpoints, they arrive at the Sprodj Atomic Research Center, where they are introduced to Chief Engineer Frank Wolff, Calculus's assistant. They meet with Calculus who explains his work and research into nuclear energy propulsion, and his plans to build a nuclear-powered rocket to the moon. Despite Haddock's laughter, Calculus assures him that he is serious, and introduces them to Director of the Centre, Mr. Baxter. The latter congratulates the four in their decisions to accompany Calculus on the flight, while a flabbergasted Haddock looks on.

The next morning, Tintin, Snowy and Haddock, accompanied by Wolff go the atomic pile, where they extract plutonium for "cooking" from Uranium-238. Their tour is cut short with the discovery of the misplaced blueprints for the rocket, discovered by Tintin in the wastebasket. The tour continues with Haddock, Tintin, Calculus, Wolff, and Snowy examining an unmanned remote-controlled Rocket named X.F.L.R 6 that will test the nuclear motor and take snapshots of the moon. During the night, an unidentified aircraft approaching the sector alerts anti-aircraft crews and fighter pilots, which attempt to intercept the plane, but not before three parachutists make their way out into restricted airspace. In a rare mishap, an AA shell lands in Calculus' bed, propelling him out the window. The next morning, security is doubled and all senior members of the Project are called into a briefing, during which detectives Thompson and Thomson show up wearing Syldavian costumes. Tintin tells Baxter that the detectives sent by Interpol for security.

Curious as to how the facility was penetrated so easily, Tintin treks up into the mountains with Snowy to examine the ventilation grids and radios Haddock with coordinates and possible entry routes. That night, Tintin spots one of the intruders and tries to catch him but gets injured in the head. Meanwhile at the center, the Thompsons intercept Wolff and Haddock during a brief power outage, allowing them to sneak off and mistake an x-ray machine for a real skeleton. In the facility's hospital, Tintin is okay, but is forced to spend some time in bed with a grazed skull while final preparations are made for the test rocket's launch. At this time, it is revealed that an unnamed foreign power led by Miller is using agents to seize vital information on the rocket and intends to disrupt the "Mammoth Project" (their name)'s launch of X-FLR6 via radio interference. All goes well for the team in Sprodj, until their rocket is intercepted and they are forced to destroy it to avoid having it fall into enemy hands.

For the next several months, the construction on the Moon-Rocket is underway, with Tintin, Snowy, Haddock, and Calculus testing the pressure suits in an atmospheric chamber. Fed up with all the waiting around and technical difficulties with his clumsiness, Haddock infuriates Calculus with the phrase "acting the goat." Flying into a rage and marching Haddock (in full space-suit), Tintin, and Snowy to the main vehicle facility, Calculus drives them maniacally to the rocket's construction site via jeep, where he shows them the process of building the Moon-Rocket. When reprimanding Haddock for not watching his step, Calculus loses balance and falls down a well onboard, causing him to suffer from temporary anterograde amnesia. With the project temporarily halted due to Calculus' condition, Tintin and Haddock attempt to bring "poor Cuthbert" back to reality, but to little avail-including Haddock's childish attempts (which backfire hilariously). Only when he uses the phrase "acting the goat", Calculus comes round in a fit of temporary rage before thanking Haddock for his work.

As the months pass, more tests and upgrades are performed on the rocket and its counterpart crew. Meanwhile, Miller calls in Colonel Jorgen who is waiting to take revenge from Tintin to get hold of the rocket plans. The night of the launching arrives, with Haddock writing his will, and a final champagne-based farewell by Baxter to the crew of the Moon-Rocket: Tintin, Haddock, Snowy, Wolff, and Calculus. They proceed to the launching site via motorcade with additional security and arrive after midnight for launching. Haddock is apprehensive at first but continues with the set course. Inside the rocket's crew space, they prepare for final launching using traditional chemical rocket power for atmospheric ascension. Each of the crew frets over whether this will be their last living moment(s). In the Launch Control Center, Baxter and the associates are tense as the countdown begins. At the last second, Calculus ignites the rocket, and it carries off skyward towards the moon as the crew experiences sensational crushing and shock from motion. With the rocket safely away into the Earth's upper atmosphere, Baxter heads back to the Mission Control Centre, trying to contact the Moon-Rocket, but to no avail, leaving the story arc hanging by an eerie silence, as Tintin and his companions soar into space.

Appearances

Characters

• Tintin
• Snowy
• Captain Haddock
• Cuthbert Calculus
• Thompson and Thomson
• Baxter
• Frank Wolff
• Miller
• Colonel Boris Jorgen
• Baron
• Vladimir
• Doctor Patella
• Michael
• Walter
• Nestor
• Jim
• Muskar XII (mentioned)

Organizations

• ZEPO

Vehicles

• Moon Rocket

Trivia

• The phrase "acting the goat" is a French vernacular "faire le Zouave" i.e. to behave wildly. This was the term used indiscriminately as an insult by Captain Haddock which Professor Calculus takes offense to. In the American edition by Golden Press, the phrase is translated as "acting like a goat".