According to noted author and moon-nuking expert Frank J. Fleming, the following isn’t really news because he already knew about it. But not all of us are as smart as Frank J., obviously. So here you go.
During the height of the Cold War, U.S. officials debated whether to detonate nuclear bomb on the moon in order to send a message to the Soviet Union, the Asian News International reports.
The secret project dubbed, “A Study of Lunar Research Flights” and nicknamed “Project A119,” was seriously being considered until it was scrapped because military officials were worried it would hurt the people on Earth.
The Daily Mail reports that astronomer Carl Sagan’s calculations were used regarding the dust and gas the blast would generate. The website also states that physicist Leonard Reiffel told the Associated Press in an interview in 2000 that a U.S. nuclear flash from Earth might have “intimidated” the Soviets.
Sort of the “flaming bag of poop” gag, on a cosmic scale. Boy, if I had known Carl Sagan tried to nuke the moon, I might paid more attention during Cosmos…
Mostly, though, I just wanted an excuse to post this clip, because Mr. Show was an amusing program on the television.
Of course, that was back in the old days, when it was considered acceptable to mock and question the government. Aren’t you glad we’re so much smarter than that now? Yay!