In 19... the first Soviet expedition headed by prof. was sent to Venus. B. F. Ozerov. The planet, just like neighboring Mars, turns out to be inhabited by intelligent beings. Astronauts begin exploring an unfamiliar culture... What kind of reception awaits Soviet astronauts? Will they be able to solve the riddle of “the second planet in our system, counting from the Sun”? And if so, how to deliver priceless information back to Earth? Yuri Gagarin’s flight, in addition to a giant technological leap, was preceded by an unprecedented surge in science fiction. Space became one of the main topics of concern to Soviet society. It seemed that a new era would begin very soon - the era of intergalactic flights and space exploration. The era never began, humanity never conquered the stars, although it still dreams of it. Here is one of the first Soviet space novels and one of the first examples of the “space opera” genre in world science fiction.