The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Ballard, J. G. "The Man Who Walked on the Moon." The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

J. G. Ballard's short story "The Man Who Walked on the Moon" is set in Brazil and toggles between the past and the present throughout. The story is written from the unnamed protagonist's first-person point of view and traces the evolution of the narrator's relationship with a man who identifies as Commander Scranton, a former astronaut. For the sake of clarity, the following summary abides by a linear mode of explanation.

The narrator lives in Ipanema with his wife and mother. He has worked as a journalist, a translator, a teacher, and a war correspondent throughout his career. In recent days, he has been working for the local newspaper, but he resents the assignments that his editor gives to him. He does not like writing film reviews because he believes that the work is beneath him. He often avoids going into the newspaper office and frequently declines to complete the assignments his editors offer him because he is frustrated in his professional life. His wife and mother grow increasingly frustrated with the narrator's laziness. They constantly pressure him to find new work or to write different sorts of stories. The narrator starts avoiding his apartment to escape their scrutiny.

One day, the narrator sits at a beach-side café and notices groups of tourists approaching a shabbily dressed man. The tourists refer to the man as Commander Scranton, buy him drinks, take his photo, and beg him to tell him his stories about traveling to space. The narrator realizes that Scranton is the American man he read about in the paper two years prior. Scranton has been posing as a former astronaut, hoping to win the attention and sympathy of strangers. However, the exposé revealed that he was never in space. In fact, he is a failed pilot.

The narrator approaches Scranton at the café and starts asking him questions about his space travels. Scranton tells him that being in space is not unlike being on earth. The narrator is fascinated by Scranton, especially by his removed way of interacting with the world. When Scranton reveals that he has some photos of his space travels at his home, the narrator agrees to pay him a fee to see them. Scranton leads the narrator back to his squalid apartment above the local cinema. The space is filthy and meager, but the narrator envies Scranton's living conditions. He wishes he could live an isolated life like Scranton's. Then Scranton shows the narrator his photos, which the narrator quickly realizes have been torn out of newspapers and magazines. Initially, the narrator feels disappointed. However, as he is walking home afterward, he feels pleasantly detached from reality much like Scranton.

The narrator starts to spend all his time with Scranton. Meanwhile, Scranton's health starts to fail. Instead of getting him medical attention, the narrator sits by his bedside, rearranges his pillows, and brings him tea and cakes. He also shepherds Scranton to various cafés and restaurants so they can make money and get free drinks from tourists. Soon enough, the narrator is living full time at Scranton's apartment. Not long later, Scranton dies.

The narrator continues to frequent the beach-side café where he met Scranton. When tourists approach him asking if he is Scranton, the narrator confirms their suspicions and tells them his stories about traveling to space.