Four men and a woman blast into outer space from the White Sands Proving Ground aboard the RX-M (Rocketship Expedition-Moon) on humanity's first expedition to Moon. Halfway there, after surviving their jettisoned and runaway first stage and a meteoroid storm, their engines suddenly quit. Recalculating fuel ratios and swapping fuel tank positions fixes the problem. After the engines fire, RX-M rapidly careens out of control on a rapid heading beyond the Moon; lowered oxygen pressure also causes the crew to slowly pass out. They gradually revive much later and discover that they have traveled some 50,000,000 miles and are now on a direct heading toward Mars. Quick calculations reveal that RX-M is only 50,000 miles away. Dr. Karl Eckstrom (John Emery) is forced to "pause and observe respectfully while something infinitely greater assumes control".