Carl Sagan Was On US Team To Nuke the Moon

First time accepted submitter novakom writes "Apparently during the cold war, one fall-back position the U.S. was looking at to ensure mutual assured destruction was to put nukes on the moon. This would ensure that the U.S. could retaliate against even an effective first strike by the Russians. The first step, of course, would be to detonate a nuke on the moon. And yes, Carl Sagan was on the team (and apparently leaked the info!)"

Comments

Why would that be the first step?

[Anonymous Coward]

In what world does putting nukes on the moon require first detonating them on the moon? It would seem like that might make things harder.

Re:Why would that be the first step?

[sribe]

In what world does putting nukes on the moon require first detonating them on the moon? It would seem like that might make things harder.

I think the summary was poorly worded. It's not the first step to getting them on the moon; it's the first to using them as a deterrent, after siting on the moon, because it would be proof positive to the Soviets that you had actually gotten working nukes onto the moon, as opposed to some kind non-functional decoy. (Ironically, decades later, Ronald Reagan used a non-functioning decoy (SDI) to wreck the Soviet economy and win the cold war...)

Re:Why would that be the first step?

[Nefarious Wheel]

... If you can't nuke the moon from Earth, then you can't nuke Earth from the moon.

Horse manure. Different size gravity wells.

Re:Why would that be the first step?

[ceoyoyo]

It's much harder to get a nuke to the moon. You're climbing up the big gravity well and falling down the little one instead of vice versa. It took a Saturn V to get people to the moon and only a couple of puny boosters to get them back.

Re:News for Nerds, Stuff from Twelve Years Ago

[fotoguzzi]

http://slashdot.org/story/00/05/15/1238219/us-had-plan-to-nuke-the-moon