Marooned Off Vesta
Encyclopedia
Marooned Off Vesta is a science fiction
short story
by Isaac Asimov
. It was the third story written by Asimov, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by Astounding Science Fiction in August, then accepted in October by Amazing Stories
, appearing in the March 1939 issue. Asimov first included it in his 1968 story collection Asimov's Mysteries
, and subsequently in the 1973 collection The Best of Isaac Asimov
.
Silver Queen in the Asteroid Belt
and find themselves trapped in orbit
around the asteroid
Vesta
. They have at their disposal three airtight rooms, one spacesuit, three days' worth of air, a week's supply of food, and a year's supply of water. With typically Asimovian courage and ingenuity, the trapped men manage to use the limited resources at their disposal to rescue themselves. The description of their rescue is heavy with accurate portrayals of the physics and experiences involved with being in space
, a theme that often re-emerges in Asimov's later works.
set twenty years after the original. Both stories appeared in the March 1959 issue of Amazing Stories.
commented wryly that "'Marooned off Vesta' was indeed Ike's first sale. His first story came several attempts later." Budrys also faulted "Anniversary" as "a badly contrived stunt."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. It was the third story written by Asimov, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by Astounding Science Fiction in August, then accepted in October by Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, appearing in the March 1939 issue. Asimov first included it in his 1968 story collection Asimov's Mysteries
Asimov's Mysteries
Asimov's Mysteries, published in 1968, is a collection of 14 short stories by Isaac Asimov, all of them science fiction mysteries...
, and subsequently in the 1973 collection The Best of Isaac Asimov
The Best of Isaac Asimov
The Best of Isaac Asimov is a collection of twelve science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov. It begins with a short introduction giving various details on the stories, such as how they came to be written, or what significance merits their inclusion in a "best of" collection, as well as some...
.
Plot summary
Marooned Off Vesta tells the story of three men who survive the wreck of the spaceshipSpacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
Silver Queen in the Asteroid Belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
and find themselves trapped in orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
around the asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
Vesta
4 Vesta
Vesta, formally designated 4 Vesta, is one of the largest asteroids, with a mean diameter of about . It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, and is named after the Roman virgin goddess of home and hearth, Vesta....
. They have at their disposal three airtight rooms, one spacesuit, three days' worth of air, a week's supply of food, and a year's supply of water. With typically Asimovian courage and ingenuity, the trapped men manage to use the limited resources at their disposal to rescue themselves. The description of their rescue is heavy with accurate portrayals of the physics and experiences involved with being in space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
, a theme that often re-emerges in Asimov's later works.
Legacy
In 1958, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the story's appearance, Asimov wrote a sequel called AnniversaryAnniversary (Asimov)
Anniversary is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1959 issue of Amazing Stories and subsequently appeared in the collections Asimov's Mysteries and The Best of Isaac Asimov...
set twenty years after the original. Both stories appeared in the March 1959 issue of Amazing Stories.
Reception
Reviewing an anthology including the piece, Algis BudrysAlgis Budrys
Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
commented wryly that "'Marooned off Vesta' was indeed Ike's first sale. His first story came several attempts later." Budrys also faulted "Anniversary" as "a badly contrived stunt."