Wow—talk about a cliffhanger.
Our three intrepid astronauts have just been shot into outer space. Although the launch goes fine, the force of the shot ends up having almost biblical effects on the weather. An "artificial hurricane" (27.2) is unleashed on Tampa; a freak storm forms in the Atlantic, destroying a fleet of British ships; and the shot itself can be heard as far as "Sierra Leone" (27.5). Worst of all, though, the sky is covered in clouds for days, preventing the Gun Club from tracking the progress of the capsule.
Unfortunately, good news isn't waiting for them when the sky clears. Maston observes that the capsule has missed its mark and is currently orbiting the moon. As far as he can tell, there are two possibilities: The capsule with either orbit the moon forever, or slowly get pulled to its surface by gravity. Only time will tell.
We don't blame you if you feel ripped off—it would've been really rewarding to see the mission end successfully. Instead, though, Verne leaves the reader with just enough questions to check out the sequel, Around the Moon. We don't want to spoil anything, so we'll just leave you with this: You haven't seen the last of this three-man crew.