Three teenagers and an older scientist develop their own atomic rocket, solve their own space problems and blast off for the moon in spite of mysterious setbacks.

A high school senior goes through the gate to an unknown planet for a two-to-ten day final exam in Advanced Survival, and realizes, after a period of fighting the elements and wildlife, that something has gone wrong with the gate and what was a brief survival exam is an endless struggle for life.

Lazarus Long, member of a select group bred for generations to live far beyond normal human lifespans, helps his kind escape persecution after word leaks out and angry crowds accuse them of withholding the "secret" of longevity. Lazarus and his companions set out on an interstellar journey and face many trials and strange cultures, like a futuristic Odysseus and his crew, before returning to Earth.

E.C. "Scar" Gordon, a Vietnam veteran, answers an ad promising adventure and meets a mysterious beauty who transports him to another world.

Teenager Bill Lermer and his father emigrate from the mechanical and organized world of an overpopulated Earth to become colonists on Ganymede, the third moon of Jupiter.

A high school senior wins a space suit in a soap jingle contest, takes a last walk wearing "Oscar" before cashing him in for college tuition, and suddenly finds himself on a space odyssey.