In October, 1957, the USA went into a panic when the news came out that the Soviet Union was the first nation to launch a satellite into space. This caused President Eisenhower to support the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in order to catch up with the Soviets. Some very hard and disastrous learning years followed before the Soviet Union was overtaken by the determined Americans. In May, 1962, President Kennedy declared that 'this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal - before this decade is out - of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth'. The rest is history. Everyone knows that the USA succeeded in this gigantic task.

It is no wonder that Carl Barks was also swept along in the patriotic wave and that his thoughts circled around the new frontier. He recognized the vast possibilities in comic book stories dealing with the mysterious and totally unknown space, not to mention the profound appeal the very subject would have on the common earthling. In the surrounding years he produced more than a dozen stories originating from his beloved duck world in which he made his contribution to this glorious chapter in his nation's history.

THE STORIES
This is a brief review of most of the space stories Barks dreamed up; shown in chronological order.
1948 WDCS093 Donald is hired to fly the first rocket ship to the Moon but a villainous guy is competing in another vessel...	1957 WDCS199 Gyro invents a thought machine by which one can travel wherever he wants. The ducks visit Jupiter!			1958 DBP Gyro and Scrooge travel to the asteroids in order to obtain a metal strong enough for the Money Bin.
1959 U$24 The 24 Carat Moon Scrooge hears of a small moon of solid gold behind the Moon. He immediately blasts off to claim the precious object!	1959 WDCS220 Donald accidentially invents the explosive Weemite. Maybe the army would be interested in it for its space rockets?			1959 FC1025 Dream Planet Gyro and Gus Goose travel to a far-away planet where everybody does nothing but relax. Just the thing for Gus...
1960 U$29 Island in the Sky Scrooge decides to hide all his money on an asteroid far away from thieves. But the asteroid is inhabited...	1961 WDCS244 Missile Fizzle Donald is a broom sweeper at a missile base and he is very busy, because all the new missiles explode at take-off.			1961 U$34 Mythic Mystery The ducks are blown up in the air to a nearby, small planet. It seems to be Valhalla, the home of the ancient gods!
1964 U$49 The Loony Lunar Gold Race Scrooge is talking about the folly of gold-thirsty people when it is announced that gold is found on the Moon...	1964 U$53 Interplanetary Postman Scrooge takes over the job as postmaster. His first job is to deliver a letter to Venus!			1966 U$65 Micro-Ducks from Outer Space A prize is offered to whoever can find a flying saucer. Scrooge can...

THE INSIGHT
Although Barks primarily created his comic book stories to entertain people he was always very interested in getting things right. This meant that he was studying the era's space technology in order to draw his panels as accurately as possible (of course with due respect to the comics' medium). Below are some of the more scientific of Barks' panels. You should bear in mind that the examples shown were not all common knowledge at the time!
U$49 Launch	DBP G-forces			DBP Weightlessness
U$29 Space Wheel	U$29 Asteroid Belt			U$37 Astronaut gear
U$49 Less gravitation	WDCS199 Different life forms			WDCS244 Landing

THE IDEA
In 1962 Barks came up with a novel idea that started a new franchise. He suggested that the popular story Swiss Family Robinson should be changed into a space odyssey. His publisher at Western, Craig Chase, at first filed the letter away, but later he decided to give the idea a chance. Since then Space Family Robinson ran for many years in comic books, and as a TV-series named Lost in Space. It was later made into a film.
THE COMIC BOOKS SFR8/1964	THE TV-SERIES 1965-1968			THE MOVIE 1998