Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novel A Space Odyssey was published in 1968. It was created concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation and released after the film's premiere. Although both works are set in the future, they differ significantly in tone and content. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, a mission to Jupiter's moon Io is thwarted when an error causes the spacecraft to crash-land on Jupiter. The crew survives, but none of them are seen again until many years later when they appear before a space industry conference. They explain that they are now merely observers as humanity has advanced beyond exploring into other worlds. This concept of humans becoming mere spectators of Earth and its surroundings due to their own progress was also central to Kubrick's film. However, while Clarke's work was written before human spaceflight was even imagined by most people, Kubrick's film was made well before any plans for missions to Mars or anywhere else outside our solar system were proposed or considered possible. Furthermore, despite being set in the future, neither story features any form of interstellar travel, let alone contact with alien civilizations. Instead, they focus on what humans can do within our own galaxy and how they might change it through technology.