The Top-Secret Plan to Nuke the Moon

 

The Top-Secret Plan to Nuke the Moon

Date: 1958

Key Characters: The United States Air Force, Carl Sagan.

Historical Reference: "Project A119, A Study of Lunar Research Flights," declassified documents.

The Story: During the height of the Cold War space race, the United States was desperate for a way to demonstrate its military and technological might after the Soviet Union's Sputnik success. This desperation led to a top-secret plan called "Project A119." The idea was shockingly simple and terrifying: detonate a nuclear bomb on the surface of the Moon. The goal was to create a mushroom cloud or flash of light so large and bright that it would be visible to the naked eye from Earth, intimidating the Soviets. A young Carl Sagan was part of the team tasked with modeling the behavior of the dust cloud. Thankfully, military leaders realized the immense scientific cost of contaminating the moon with radioactive material and the potential for a catastrophic launch failure, and the project was scrapped before it ever got off the ground.