Critics have held the illustrative detail of the book in high regard, but have expressed divided opinions of the story; some consider it to be among the most mature and emotionally resonant entries in the series, while others fault it for downplaying the humour seen in previous volumes in favour of the scientific focus of the narrative.

Soon after takeoff they discover that the detectives Thomson and Thompson have accidentally stowed away on board, thinking the launch was set for 1:34 P.M., and not A.M., putting a strain on the oxygen supply.

The detectives accidentally turn off the nuclear motor, disrupting the artificial gravity and sending everyone floating until Tintin corrects the problem.

They then suffer a relapse of the Formula 14 drug (seen in Land of Black Gold), resulting in their hair growing rapidly in multiple colours, until Calculus subsequently administers a cure.

Haddock, who has smuggled whisky aboard the rocket, gets drunk and takes an impromptu spacewalk, during which he briefly becomes a satellite of the asteroid Adonis, but Tintin is able to rescue him.

With Wolff's help, Jorgen seeks to hijack the ship and return it to Earth, but Tintin escapes and foils him through emergency sabotage that cuts power to the engine.

[2] Due to the strain on the oxygen supplies, the crew decides to abandon the Moon tank and the optical instruments and to cut short the lunar stay.

Upon approaching Earth, the crew falls unconscious, but Tintin wakes long enough to set the rocket to auto-pilot and it arrives back in Syldavia safely.

During the heroes' welcome home party, Calculus hopes they may return to the Moon someday, but Haddock refuses, revealing that the expedition has taught him that "Man's proper place is on dear old Earth".

[6] Seeking advice on the story, Hergé consulted his friend Bernard Heuvelmans, who had authored the non-fiction book L'Homme parmi les étoiles ("Man Among the Stars") (1944).

[14] Hergé's research archive included an article from the American magazine Collier's which discussed how humanity could reach the Moon,[13] as well as books by Pierre Rousseau and Auguste Piccard.

[28] On 18 April 1951, he published an open letter in the magazine explaining his absence as a result of illness caused by exhaustion and included an illustration of himself sprawled out on an armchair.

In deference to these critics, for the published book version he added Wolff's line of "perhaps by some miracle I shall escape too", to make the scene seem a less obvious suicide.

[38] He was critical of the two-part story arc, stating that they had "neither the liveliness and dynamism" of The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure, "nor the supernatural quality" of The Seven Crystal Balls-Prisoners of the Sun.

[42] Philippe Goddin praised the depiction of the rocket's landing as "a magnificent spectacle, well worth the double space spread given by Hergé",[43] also highlighting what he perceived as the ending's "unprecedented dramatic tension".

[45] Apostolidès opined that despite being a "fussy and somewhat ridiculous character", through his scientific achievements Calculus grows to the "stature of a giant" in this arc, eclipsing Sir Francis Haddock (from The Secret of the Unicorn) as the series' "founding ancestor".

[50] Literary critic Tom McCarthy stated that in the Destination Moon-Explorers of the Moon story arc, Calculus "embodies Hergé's... own wartime position, spun out into a post-war environment", representing a genius driven by his work whose activities are coincidental to national and political causes.

[52] He felt that the inclusion of Jorgen being smuggled aboard the rocket as a stowaway reflected the idea of the "stranger" penetrating the "home", something which he thought was present in other Adventures.

Explorers on the Moon was the second to be adapted in the second animated series; it was directed by Ray Goossens and written by Greg, a well-known cartoonist who was to become editor-in-chief of Tintin magazine.