What would the Earth be like without the Moon? An American professor believes that without the moon, the earth's environment would be more stable and suitable for human life, because the earth will not have seasonal changes. He even came up with the bold idea of blowing up the moon with a nuclear bomb and freeing the earth from the moon's influence. This idea turned out to be supported by the US Air Force, which in the fifties of the last century really planned to bomb the moon with a nuclear bomb, only to abandon it for various reasons.
Lunar crisis
In 1958, the U.S. Air Force launched a secret program, codenamed "Armada". The purpose of this plan is to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the moon so that the world can see the space power and military deterrence of the United States. The reason for this plan was that the United States was at a disadvantage in the space race with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite, known as "Sputnik I". The weight of this satellite is only 836 kilograms, only 58 centimeters in diameter, but its significance is enormous.
It was the first feat in the history of mankind to send a man-made object into space, and a major breakthrough for the Soviet Union in the field of space. The satellite was in orbit for three months, during which time it emitted a "tick-tick" radio signal that made its presence heard by the whole world.
The launch of "Sputnik I" caused panic and anxiety in the United States. The Americans felt that they were lagging behind the USSR in the space race and feared that the USSR would use space technology for a military attack. The United States** and the people are demanding action to prove America's space prowess and defend America's security.
The U.S. Air Force also came up with an extreme plan, which was to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the moon, so that the Soviet Union and the whole world knew that the United States would not easily admit defeat and would not be threatened.
The U.S. Air Force commissioned a Chicago-based research institute, Armada Corporation, to conduct a feasibility study for the program. Armada's physicists have analyzed and simulated all aspects of the program, including the selection, transportation, launch, orbit, and effects of the nuclear bomb. They also designed a special rocket, called "Atlas", to carry a nuclear bomb and send it to the moon.
In this project, a young man who later became a famous physicist and astronomer was involved, and his name was Carl Sagan. Sagan, then a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago, was tasked with calculating the shape and size of the clouds of dust produced by nuclear bombs on the moon, as well as their visibility on Earth. Sagan's job was to ensure that the nuclear bomb would produce a visible visual effect on Earth, allowing people to see evidence of the moon being blown up.
Sagan made some important contributions to this plan, but also made a serious mistake. When he was applying for a scholarship, he accidentally divulged the existence of this program, much to the shock and upset of some members of the judging committee. Sagan, while not punished, was not awarded a scholarship either. The head of this program, Gerald Feldman, president of Armada Corporation, had this to say of Sagan: "He was a very smart man, but also a very imprudent man. ”
The leaked plan caused an uproar, and some people worried that the nuclear ** would destroy the environment of the moon and affect future exploration and use, but in the end the plan was canceled and mankind escaped.
Although the plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon was canceled, the U.S. Air Force did not give up on continuing to toss the moon and began to shift most of its energy to a manned landing on the moon, and in 1969, the United States successfully achieved the feat of a manned landing on the moon and became the first country to leave footprints on the moon. This achievement not only enabled the United States to achieve a leading position in the space race, but also allowed the United States to establish prestige and trust in the world.
In addition to military and political motives, some American experts have also wanted to blow up the moon out of scientific and engineering interest. In the sixties of the last century, Robert Brownlee, an engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), once came up with a bold idea, which was to hit the moon with an asteroid, change its orbit, and make it closer to the earth, thereby increasing the gravitational pull of the moon, reducing the rotation speed of the earth, and extending the time of day. His purpose is to give humans more time to work and rest, as well as to reduce extreme weather on Earth.
He even devised a detailed plan on how to choose the right asteroid, how to change its orbit, how to control the angle and speed of its impact, and how to evaluate the effects of the impact. However, his idea was not supported by NASA and was not implemented because it was too complex and dangerous, and could bring more problems, such as the Earth's climate change, the difficulty of adapting to life, and the instability of the Moon.
In addition to changing the moon's orbit, some American experts also want to change the surface or interior of the moon to facilitate better observation and exploration of the moon.
In the 80s of the last century, the American physicist Edward Taylor once proposed an idea to use antimatter bombs to create a huge crater on the moon, thereby exposing the internal structure of the moon and allowing scientists to study the origin and evolution of the moon. His aim was to solve a long-standing puzzle for the scientific community about how the Moon came to be and what its relationship was to the Earth. He believes that by triggering a man-made volcanic eruption on the moon, some precious data and samples can be obtained, and the mysteries of the moon can be unraveled. I have to say that American scientists' obsession with the moon has never changed, and sometimes the craziest ones are really scientists who have mastered the cutting-edge science and technology of mankind.
**10,000 Fans Incentive Plan