Solar reflectors. 19th-century illustration of a scene from a science fiction novel, showing solar reflectors being used to power the observatory located on the mountain top. This scene is from 'Les Exiles de la Terre' (1887) by French author Paschal Grousset (1844-1909). In this early example of the genre of science fiction, the protagonists establish the Selene Company in Sudan and a mountain of iron ore is magnetised and transported to the Moon. Grousset published this novel under the pseudonym Andre Laurie. This artwork is from the 1888 edition illustrated by French artist George Roux (1853-1929). It was later translated into English as 'The Conquest Of The Moon: A Story of the Bayouda'.