<P> On October 16 , 1997 , 32 years in the future from the perspective of viewers in 1965 , the United States is about to launch one of history 's great adventures : man 's colonization of space . The Jupiter 2 ( called Gemini 12 in the unaired pilot episode ) , a futuristic saucer - shaped spacecraft , stands on its launch pad undergoing final preparations . Its mission is to take a single family on a five - and - a-half - year journey ( altered from 98 years in the unaired pilot ) to a planet orbiting the nearest star , Alpha Centauri ( the pilot show had referred to the planet itself as Alpha Centauri but this error was corrected for the series ) , which space probes have revealed possesses ideal conditions for human life . All of this is presented as a news report of a real space expedition , with news commentators informing us of the mission 's backstory . </P>
<P> On October 16 , 1997 , 32 years in the future from the perspective of viewers in 1965 , the United States is about to launch one of history 's great adventures : man 's colonization of space . The Jupiter 2 ( called Gemini 12 in the unaired pilot episode ) , a futuristic saucer - shaped spacecraft , stands on its launch pad undergoing final preparations . Its mission is to take a single family on a five - and - a-half - year journey ( altered from 98 years in the unaired pilot ) to a planet orbiting the nearest star , Alpha Centauri ( the pilot show had referred to the planet itself as Alpha Centauri but this error was corrected for the series ) , which space probes have revealed possesses ideal conditions for human life . All of this is presented as a news report of a real space expedition , with news commentators informing us of the mission 's backstory . </P>
name of the ship in lost in space
name of the ship in lost in space
Jupiter 2
Jupiter 2