The sequel to From the Earth to the Moon chronicles the events of the crew as they circumnavigate the moon.

"It's all very well," said Captain Nicholl, "to go to the moon, but how do we get back again?" He is already hurtling through space with his two interpid companions, Barbicane and Ardan, and his rather belated question expresses the predicament of the three astronauts which keeps the reader in suspense throughout this book. Although they never actually land on the moon, they do solve the problem of their return.