One of Ray Bradbury’s most famous astronaut stories, “Kaleidoscope,” isn’t really about astronauts. Granted, it seems like it is: Published in Bradbury’s 1951 collection The Illustrated Man, “Kaleidoscope” depicts the final hours of a spaceship crew returning to Earth. Hit by a meteor storm, the ship is destroyed—and a handful of spacesuit-clad survivors float through the void, deeper into Earth’s gravity. Via helmet radio, they argue, confess, and try to reconcile their lives, realizing they’re about to combust and evaporate as they reenter the atmosphere.
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