Space Case

In Space Case, which is set on the moon, Stuart Gibbs strives to portray the lunar base authentically. Accordingly, Gibbs includes multiple mentions of the actual surface of the moon, which has a lot of dust on it. The moon dust, or space dust, as Dash sometimes calls it, serves as a critical symbol in the novel of the ways that humans affect—and are affected by—the world around them.

What NASA and the government want is an “edited and sanitized version” (9) of events; mentions of space dust often portray how reality is the opposite of that. Dash describes how the “pristine, white blanket of moon dust” (46) has been “trampled […] and flattened” (46) by the humans on the moon. The mental image most people on Earth have of the moon is not accurate to the messy reality. In addition, the dust is forever causing issues, getting tracked inside, trying to land on solar panels, and getting sucked into machinery. Humans would prefer things to run smoothly, without friction or interference, but dust is ever present and must always be overcome. It seems that Dash would prefer the moon to remain in its “pristine, prehuman condition” (64). However, getting messy and making mistakes is part of growing up, and finding ways to leave your own unique mark amid the chaos of other people matters too.