Mission of Gravity

Mission of Gravity is a 1954 science fiction novel by Hal Clement.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Novel - Hal Clement

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story is set on a disk-shaped planet named Mesklin, which has gravity that varies between 700g at the poles and 3g at the equator. The story is told from the point of view of one of the native creatures whose normal habitat is the poles. They are centipede-like, in order to withstand the enormous gravities, and terrified of even small heights (because in 700g even a tiny fall is fatal). (See Mesklin for a more comprehensive description of the planet's characteristics.)

Related Topics:
Mesklin - Gravity - Equator

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The protagonists are on an expedition to the equator (i.e. the edge of the disk) where the gravity is a tiny fraction of what they are used to. There they encounter human astronauts who want to recover an unmanned probe that has crashed near a pole, where the gravity is too high for humans to withstand. They agree to recover the probe for the humans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is most often praised for its unique concept and less often praised for excellence of story. It is particularly notable for being one of the earliest science fiction novels to describe a world with an ecology that matches its physical system.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1970, Clement published a sequel, Star Light, which does not share Missions reputation, although it was nominated for a Hugo Award.

Related Topics:
1970 - Star Light - Hugo Award

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~