This is a classic science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum that was originally published in Wonder Stories in 1934, and remains his best known work. The story centres on a mission to Mars in the 21st century on which one of the scientists crash lands while photographing the landscape. He and finds himself having to walk across the planet’s surface to get back to the astronauts, but on his journey he meets a beaked alien who becomes his travelling companion. This work is part of our Vintage Sci-Fi Classics Series, a series in which we are republishing some of the best stories in the genre by some of its most acclaimed authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Robert Sheckley. Each publication is complete with a short introduction to the history of science fiction.