Back to the Moon Back to the Moon Back to the Moon is a science fiction novel and Homer Hickam's first fictional book. Published in June 1999, Hickam wrote Back to the Moon using insider information he learned from NASA. The prologue of the novel begins with a dramatized account of the second EVA of Apollo 17. Astronaut Jack Schmitt discovers orange soil in Shorty Crater at the very end of the EVA and gathers samples in a race against time to get back to the LEM. Meanwhile, Wernher von Braun is watching the end of the mission on TV with other NASA engineers.
12 to the Moon points out that the earth-saving eruption of Popocatepetl is "depicted by stock footage of solar prominences" that bear little resemblance to real volcanic eruptions. Modern critics are also bothered by the narrative development of the film. Westphal says that "Few films ... begin as soberly, and end as absurdly, as "12 to the Moon". The film's first thirty minutes promise an internationalized update of "Destination Moon" [1950], while later events rival a Flash Gordon serial". Senn agrees that the film is disappointing, noting that "What starts out as a fairly intelligent and progressive space-travel film ... quickly degenerates into a