Following the end of the American Civil War, the members of the Baltimore Gun Club find themselves in a state of profound inactivity due to a lack of military conflict. Their president, Impey Barbicane, proposes a daring enterprise that will revive their spirits: building a colossal cannon capable of launching a projectile directly to the moon. Backed by mathematical calculations from the Cambridge Observatory, the club undertakes the monumental task of casting the massive Columbiad cannon in Florida and manufacturing a hollow aluminum projectile to house human travelers. Just as the preparations are nearly complete, an eccentric French adventurer named Michel Ardan sends a telegram proposing a radical change to the plans: he intends to ride inside the projectile himself.
Despite the immense physical and mechanical dangers, Barbicane and his rival, Captain Nicholl, agree to join him. After overcoming bitter personal feuds, the three men successfully embark on their historic journey, propelled by four hundred thousand pounds of gun-cotton. The launch triggers a massive earthquake and leaves the earth obscured by a dense cloud of vapor. When the atmosphere finally clears, astronomers discover that the projectile has narrowly missed direct impact and instead settled into an elliptical orbit, becoming a permanent satellite of the moon.
