Mission of Gravity
by Hal Clement

Del Rey (New York): 1954. Mass-market paperback: 231 pages. ISBN-10: 0-57507-094-3 Tags: methane; orbit; Science Fiction; space Tactical strength: [6/10]

---

You know you have a hard science fiction novel when the book contains an appendix explaining the scientific calculations the author made to create the setting for the novel. In Mission of Gravity, the planet Mesklin steals the show away from the characters and events. Mesklin supports life, but a methane- and hydrogen-based life rather than a water- and oxygen-based life. It also has an oblong shape and a fast spin that makes gravity at the equator three times earth gravity, but gravity at the poles around 600 times earth gravity.

Some human scientists wanted to study Mesklin's extreme surface gravity and landed a specially designed, unmanned ship. Unfortunately, the ship malfunctioned on the surface and could not take off. Not wanting to give up on the data stored in the ship, the humans enlist the aid of some Mesklinite sailors to travel across the methane seas and attempt to retrieve the data. The sailors, fifteen-inch long centipede-like creatures, have plans of their own to acquire and profit from as much human technology as possible.

The exposition moves along at a fairly quick pace, and as you might expect, all the plot complications come not from character interaction, but from complications with Mesklin's environment. A fun, light read, unless you start to question the physics and chemistry.