Space Adventures #45

The cover story, "Further Adventures of Mercury Man: Judgement Day," depicts a non-Earthman subjecting Mercury Man to a test that will determine whether he lives or dies, with failure resulting in ignominious defeat. In the backup feature, scientists, military leaders, and political officials select four men for a space mission in a radiation-shielded ship, with one man to be chosen within three days to fly the vessel on a final test to determine humanity's scientific knowledge of space—though the ship possesses speed that may prove insufficient, and only one of the four will survive the journey.