i first saw this when it come out in the theater . though only 13 at the time and i be an avid reader of hard science science fiction story . the technical gaffe of the film be burn into my memory . some of the following may have significant spoiler . even a a youngster and i know the premise be silly . the rocket take off for a lunar mission and in a cosmos where there be always a gravitational effect on the crew ( though loose object float a in zero gravity ) and because of that and the cabin ( the area with the control and whatever they call it ) be gyrostabalized to maintain the correct orientation ( so that when they land and why do not they land stand on their head . ) and where and at least in near earth space and the rocket engine have to be run continually with propellant combust away without an oxidizer . when the engine quit and the rocket stop _dead_ in space and and couldn not start go until a phd chemist determine it need at a little oxidizer . this time and the rocket recall it have momentum and and the next thing our hero know theyre near mar ( even a 13 year old nerd know such a minimum energy trip would take over 200 day ) . they land and find the air be breathable ( though at the time scientific data reveal that the pressure and even if the atmosphere be pure oxygen and would be too low to do any good ) . they decide to camp outside the ship and and even build a campfire . they come arm and even though they be supposedly go to the moon and where firearm wouldn not be need . they get a sight of a collapsed civilization and encounter stray martian who look just like people and develop an anti nuclear war philosophy and and those who survive try to get back to the home planet and and die in the attempt by crash on the earth . to do that would require such a long orbital period and they would have die of starvation long before approach their destination . the film it precede and destination moon and use real science most effectively ( even though their rescue with the oxygen tank forget about the moment arm from the tank center of gravity to the output nozzle ) . this film show woeful ignorance of even the most basic science . only the most technologically illiterate should think of it a a science fiction film represent it on a par with the old flash gordon serial where their rocketships take off from their belly and climb in spiral and and whose engine be always on . the story on this one i consider banal and and i can recommend this only a a film to be show to student for them to pick out technical gaffe .