The Lunar Expeditionary Landing of 1898 was a triumph of Imperial technological ingenuity. The landing craft, christened "Mabel", put down on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility to establish Salisbury Base Camp on May 24th, the Queen's birthday.
Lofted skwards through a combination of Cavorite lift and rocket propulsion, the Lunar Expedition took three days to make the transit through the aether to the Moon. Captain W.E. Johns and Doctor Alexander "Alec" Watt were later to describe the journey as "deeply unsettling" and "rather peculiar". One can only imagine the discomfort they experienced whilst floating free of the reassuring certainty of the Earth's gravitational field.
That the two men made this epic journey and returned to the safety of their home planet alive is one of the greatest feats of exploration and scientific achievement of the modern age. Imperial men of science continue to study the variety of minerals brought back by the Expedition, and these have greatly increased our understanding of the early history of our solar system.
Despite the unwieldiness of their "vacuum suits", the two lunar explorers carried out many experiments during their nine hours on the surface of the Moon. Captain Johns was pleased to report that he struck a cricket ball, bowled by Doctor Watt, a distance of two full miles.
The Expedition was to establish that commercial mining operations would never be able to recoup the considerable costs of travelling to and fro between the Earth and her closest neighbour. Sadly, the famous Expedition of 1898 remains the only occasion on which men from planet Earth have walked on the soil of another world.
More of the photographic images from the Expedition can be seen here.