Originally published 28 June 2013 | Followed by Space Apprentice | |
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky books Noon: 22nd Century, Far Rainbow, Escape Attempt, The Final Circle of Paradise, The Time Wanderers | ||
"The Way to Amalthea" (Russian: Путь на Амальтею, Put' na Amal'teyu) also known as "Destination: Amaltheia" is an early science fiction short story by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky written in 1959. An English translation called "Destination: Amaltheia" was published in a collection of the same name of Russian sf writers in 1963 by Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow.
Plot summary
A cargo spaceship, propelled by a photon engine with a large reflective mirror ("sail"), visits the Jupiter system to deliver a cargo to a manned science station on Amalthea. Damaged by meteorites, the spaceship falls into Jupiter, but survives the pressure and floats in the dense atmosphere; the crew manage to work around the damaged mirror and start the main engine to escape Jupiter and finally reach Amalthea.