A few minutes into the journey, a small, bright asteroid passes within a few hundred yards of them, but does not collide with the projectile.

The three travelers undergo a series of adventures and misadventures during the rest of the journey, including disposing of the body of a dog out a window, suffering intoxication by gases, and making calculations leading them, briefly, to believe that they are to fall back to Earth.

During the latter part of the voyage, it becomes apparent that the gravitational force of their earlier encounter with the asteroid has caused the projectile to deviate from its course.

From the safety of their projectile, they gain spectacular views of Tycho, one of the greatest of all craters on the Moon.

Four days later, the crew of a US Navy vessel, Susquehanna, spots a bright meteor fall from the sky into the sea.

A rescue operation is assembled, intending to raise the capsule from a depth of 6096 m (20,000 ft), using diving bells and steam-powered grappling claws.