In the 1950s, when the former Soviet Union was in the race to conquer space, scientists in the United States made a strange plan. They wanted to launch a nuclear attack on the lunar surface to intimidate the then Soviet Union.
Incredibly, a scientist approved this terrible plan. Carl Sagan is known as the visionary of the future. In fact, the existence of this project was revealed in the 1990s. That’s because Sagan mentioned it in his application to an elite university, according to BBC News.
Although it answered some early scientific questions about the moon, Project A119’s main purpose was to show strength. The bomb was supposed to explode on a line called the Terminator Line. It is the boundary line of the illuminated and dark part of the moon.
Its purpose was to create bright flashes of light so that they could be seen by anyone, especially from the Kremlin, with the naked eye. The absence of an atmosphere means that there would be no mushroom-like clouds.
There is only one credible explanation for this terrible plan proposal, and the reason for generating interest in it lies in insecurity and despair.
In the 1950s, America didn’t seem to be winning the Cold War. Among the political and popular views of the United States, it was common knowledge that the Soviet Union was ahead of the United States in building a nuclear arsenal, especially in the development, number and delivery of these weapons, such as nuclear bombers and missiles.
In 1952, the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. Three years later, the Soviets exploded their own bombs to shock Washington. In 1957, they went a step further, launching Sputnik 1 to become the leader in the race to win space. Sputnik 1 was the world’s first artificial satellite to be sent into orbit.
At that time, school-going children in the United States were suddenly shown a documentary called ‘Duck and Cover’, in which an animated turtle character named Bert taught the children what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.
Later that year, U.S. newspapers (The Daily Times, New Philadelphia, Ohio) quoted a senior intelligence source as saying that “the Soviets would drop a hydrogen bomb on the moon on November 7, the anniversary of their revolution.” Subsequent reports suggested that the Soviets were probably already planning to launch nuclear-armed rockets at our closest neighbor.
It was not possible to find a source for this report, just like many rumors about the Cold War.
Surprisingly, this fear encouraged the Soviets to make up their own plans. One of their plans, codenamed E4, was designed to mimic the Americans, and was later rejected by the Soviets out of fear. They feared that if the launch failed, the bomb would hit Soviet soil. They described these fears as “highly undesirable international events.”
They may have realized very simply that landing on the moon would be a bigger achievement. But Project A119 continued.
Reifel talked about it in 2000. He confirmed that it was “technically feasible” and that the explosion could have been seen from Earth.
Much of Project A119’s story is still shrouded in mystery. Much of it has been destroyed.
