From Gensokyo to the Moon

A journey to the moon. There's no goal so simple, yet so aspirational to the human race. There's not a soul who hasn't looked up at the bright moon in the dark night sky and wondered. The human race's fascination with the moon has formed the basis of countless myths and legends, and its influence on civilization is immeasurable. Humans eventually began dreaming of setting foot on the moon, with the space race being a way for countries to show their power and technological prowess over others. The moment of the first moon landing would later captivate the world.

But what about these girls? What do they think of all this moon stuff? What interest do they have in going there? Perhaps their rocket is nothing more than a little bit of fun, an off-the-wall way to pass the time.

The three Shinto gods, Sokotsutsu no O, Nakatsutsu no O, and Uwatsutsu no O, are known collectively as Sumiyoshi Sanjin or simply Sumiyoshi, God of Voyages. However, according to some researchers, the three names do not refer to separate gods, but the same, singular god. In Japanese, the "tsutsu" part of their names refers to a cylinder, but is also said to mean "star." Their names would then translate to "lower star," "middle star," and "upper star," perhaps suggesting that Sumiyoshi is, in fact, the God of Space Voyages.

Rigel, Bellatrix, and Tabit are the names of three stars in the Orion constellation. They are classified as Beta Orionis, Gamma Orionis, and Pi Orionis, respectively, but are not the three central stars of the constellation that form Orion's Belt. Remilia attempted to nickname the three layers of her rocket after these stars. In the outside world, the Project Orion space program was sadly abandoned.

The Saturn V rocket was the outside world's largest ever three-stage liquid-fuel rocket. One can get an idea of just how massive it was by looking at the Vehicle Assembly Building where it was constructed. It was the first rocket ever to carry humans to the moon, an event that ignited the outside world's interest in space. So what ignited the people of Gensokyo's interest in space? For those who wish to know, there's a story written about just that.