[0 103.0]MARS by Dr. Wernher von Braun A Technical Tale

The object of this book is to assist the eye of the public to penetrate the thicket of confusion in which the future of rocket power now lies hidden. [...] The great Eastern Bloc, after five of the most frightful years in the history of the world, had finally succumbed to the last despairing blows of the almost exhausted Western Powers. [...] A., he was appointed its Supreme Commander, and later, when the United States of the Earth became a reality, he succeeded to the new post of Commanding General of the Space Forces of the Earth, reporting to the Secretary for World Security. [...] From this satellite orbit the surface of the planet will be carefully reconnoitered, photographed and studied, preliminary to the selection of a suitable landing area and the planning of the movements of the landing party upon the surface. [...] This need was due to the fact that the relative movement of Lunetta to the Earth was in the same direction as the latter's rotation, although at a marked angle to the plane of the Equator.