Stand by for Mars!

The recruits stepping off the monorail at Space Academy share a dream of commanding rocket ships for the Solar Guard. Warrant Officer Mike McKenny quickly introduces them to the discipline behind that ambition, singling out Tom Corbett when he adjusts a loose boot. Among the arrivals are Roger Manning, who tricks Astro into carrying his luggage, and Tom, who offers the tall Venusian a helping hand. Their exchanges give this science fiction adventure the rivalries and tentative friendships of a school story.

Cooperation takes on greater urgency when Tom, Roger and Astro try to escape from a ship obstructed by desert sand. They file through hatch hinges, extend a steel bar with a pipe and work out how to move the sand with improvised containers. Mechanical problems require patience as well as strength, while competing suggestions reveal how the cadets think under pressure. The book offers readers a future of interplanetary travel seen through the practical challenges of learning to work together.