The Red Hell of Jupiter

A Planetary Exploration captain is sent to investigate a mysterious zone in Jupiter's southern hemisphere after three previous ships, including his close friend and a senior officer, vanished upon entering the Red Spot. He selects a single companion, is ordered to fly low over the area and report, and the narrative situates the mission within a government-controlled era of atomic-powered exploration that previously mapped Mercury, Venus and Mars. Jupiter is portrayed as a vast, fog-choked world of internal heat, steamy marshes and great rivers, and the expedition soon encounters hostile forces that capture the men and subject them to interrogation aimed at extracting the atomic motor's secret.