The First Men in the Moon (2010) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Bedford's greater strength led to a deadly mistake during a tense moment when the Selenites prodded him and Cavor toward the edge of a lunar abyss. Fearing they were about to be killed, Bedford panicked and violently resisted, unintentionally killing several Selenites before the two men decided to split up to improve their chances of escape.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, the explorers are captured with nets and fed, but then suddenly prodded toward the abyss without explanation, creating the tension that leads to Bedford's fatal reaction.

• bedford
• selenites
• kill
• accident
• lunar abyss

Cavor chose to remain captive to buy Bedford time to escape. With Bedford's greater strength having already caused the deaths of several Selenites, Cavor realized they would need a distraction to improve Bedford's chances of reaching the spacecraft. By staying behind, Cavor kept the Selenites occupied while Bedford fled through the tunnels.

Foreshadowing: The decision to split up occurs immediately after Bedford's violent outburst, when the two men recognize their situation has become untenable.

• cavor
• bedford
• stay behind
• capture
• escape

Cavorite was a substance invented by Professor Arthur Cavor that could block gravity. When applied to a surface, it prevented gravitational pull from passing through, allowing objects coated with it to float. The explorers built a cast-iron sphere coated with Cavorite, which enabled them to travel to the Moon and return without conventional propulsion.

Foreshadowing: Bedford meets Cavor specifically because he has invented this revolutionary gravity-blocking substance, which becomes the entire basis for their lunar expedition.

• cavorite
• gravity
• cavor
• invention
• sphere

While captive, Cavor taught the Selenites English and shared parts of human history. Through this education, the Selenites learned about humanity's warlike nature and history of violence and conflict. Fearing that humans would eventually pose a threat, the Selenites decided to mount a pre-emptive strike using Cavorite to build their own spacecraft for an invasion of Earth.

Foreshadowing: Cavor's well-intentioned effort to communicate and educate the Selenites directly leads to this catastrophic miscalculation about human nature.

• selenites
• attack
• earth
• cavorite
• pre-emptive

Cavor released all the Cavorite the Selenites had produced as a desperate gambit to prevent their planned invasion of Earth. He communicated his intentions to Bedford via Morse code and then released the Cavorite, which triggered the Moon's trapped atmosphere to escape into space. This destroyed the Selenites' civilization and the Moon's habitability, but also prevented the pre-emptive attack that would have targeted Earth.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Cavor tries to warn Bedford via Morse code, indicating he has formulated a plan to stop the Selenites.

• cavor
• cavorite
• release
• atmosphere
• prevent attack

The Moon became a barren wasteland because Cavor's release of all the Cavorite caused the Moon's trapped atmosphere, frozen into the soil and only released in direct sunlight, to escape into space. The Selenites had lived underground in this thin but breathable atmosphere. Once it drained away, the lunar surface was rendered completely uninhabitable, explaining why the Apollo 11 astronauts find a desolate landscape.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early on that the Moon's oxygen is frozen in the ground and only released by sunlight, hinting at how easily this atmosphere could be lost.

• moon
• barren
• atmosphere
• apollo 11
• cavorite

After Bedford landed near West Wittering, he hoped to mount a rescue mission for Cavor. However, when a passer-by named Chessocks climbed aboard the sphere through an open hatch out of curiosity, the hatch remained open as Bedford attempted to prepare for launch. This caused the spacecraft to accidentally launch into space with Chessocks inside, immediately foiling Bedford's plan to rescue Cavor.

Foreshadowing: Bedford returns to Earth with the hope of rescuing Cavor, but the narrative introduces Chessocks climbing aboard as an unexpected complication.

• chessocks
• launch
• space
• accident
• rescue

Cavor remained a prisoner on the Moon after Bedford escaped. During his captivity, he taught the Selenites English and some of humanity's history, and eventually revealed the formula for Cavorite. His final act was releasing all the Cavorite to prevent the Selenites' invasion, which destroyed the Moon's atmosphere. He likely died when the Moon became uninhabitable, as there is no indication he escaped.

Foreshadowing: The film never shows Cavor returning to Earth, and his Morse code communications suggest he remained trapped until his final desperate act.

• cavor
• prisoner
• death
• selenites
• cavorite

As a prisoner, Cavor used his time productively to attempt communication and build rapport with his captors. He taught the Selenites English and shared aspects of human history and culture, likely hoping to find common ground or secure his release. However, this well-intentioned education backfired catastrophically, as the Selenites concluded from humanity's violent history that humans were a threat requiring pre-emptive action.

Foreshadowing: This tragic irony is established when the Selenites decide to attack Earth specifically because of what Cavor taught them about human warfare.

• cavor
• teach
• selenites
• english
• history

In July 1969, 90-year-old Julius Bedford tells the story to a young boy named Jim while the world watches the Apollo 11 landing. The framing establishes Bedford as the sole surviving witness to the real first Moon voyage in 1909, a journey that predated humanity's official first Moon landing by six decades. His tale carries a melancholic, regretful tone as he reflects on his role in the events that led to the Moon's destruction.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene establishes the 1969 framing, with Bedford recounting his legend to a young listener as history repeats with Apollo 11.

• julius bedford
• 1969
• apollo 11
• story
• framing

The Selenites were the Moon's subterranean inhabitants who captured Bedford and Cavor upon landing. They lived underground in tunnels beneath the lunar surface, where they had developed a civilization in the thin but breathable atmosphere that existed there. The film depicts them as human-like but distinct, and they wore what appeared to be work coverings, suggesting a structured society.

Foreshadowing: The summary establishes that the Moon has inhabitants when the explorers are captured with nets and taken underground.

• selenites
• appearance
• moon inhabitants
• underground

The Moon's oxygen was not in a gaseous atmosphere but was frozen into the ground, only released in direct sunlight. This created a thin atmosphere near the surface when the Sun hit the Moon, but it was trapped and limited. The Selenites lived underground where this released oxygen could accumulate, making the surface appear barren while life thrived beneath. When Cavorite was released, this trapped atmosphere escaped into space, leaving the Moon completely lifeless.

Foreshadowing: The early scene of discovering the oxygen atmosphere frozen in the soil directly sets up the mechanism for the Moon's later destruction.

• oxygen
• atmosphere
• frozen
• moon
• selenites