2 Books by Auguste Piccard, 1st human to explore the Stratosphere - real-life model for the Star Trek hero

Entre Terre Et Ciel / Realites / Visions d’Avenir [Between Earth and Sky / Realities/ Visions of the Future]. (Lausanne, Switzerland: Editions Douchy, [1946]). 296 pp.  Illustrated with numerous photographs and 15 text drawings. Decorative softcover / paperback.

Between Earth And Sky. (London: Falcon Press, 1950). 137 pp. Translated by Claude Apcher. Illustrated. Original cloth in pictorial dust jacket designed by Seton McConnell. First Edition in English. With the bookplate of eminent Canadian Psychiatrist Clarence B. Farrar.

In May 1931, Piccard and his German engineer associate were the first humans to enter and explore the stratosphere, some 10 miles above the earth, ascending by balloon in a Mercury Space capsule-like spherical, pressurized aluminum gondola that allowed their ascent without requiring a pressure suit. They were able to gather data on the upper atmosphere, measuring cosmic rays  – the start of nearly 100 years of Upper Atmosphere Research (now much discussed after the recent Chinese spy balloon incident.)  It’s believed that Star Trek’s Captain Picard was named as a tribute to Auguste Piccard and his twin brother and fellow scientist, Jean Felix Piccard.