Physicists' Early Dreams of Nuclear Powered Spacefligth | Physics Central
“Despite the soundness of the science, Project Orion was morally difficult for many to get behind. “The idea isn’t crazy; the idea that we might do it is crazy,” physicist and author Arthur C. Clarke said of Project Orion.”
A Lunar Pandemic | AEON Magazine
“Hard as it is to believe now, in the summer of 1969, millions across the US worried that the returning astronauts would spark a lunar pandemic on Earth. Nor did their fears lack merit. Scientists, bureaucrats and engineers across the federal government and the major universities of the US had spent years preparing for that possibility. It was one potential outcome of what they called ‘back contamination’: the introduction to Earth of alien microbes that could multiply exponentially in our benign biosphere.”
The Moon Will Soon Have Cell Service | Popular Science
“Nokia’s proposal to adapt existing 4G/LTE technology for use on the Moon could support communications between lunar landers, rovers, habitats, astronauts, and more on the surface,” said Jim Reuter, the associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, in an email. “This future capability could be key to a robust, sustainable presence on and around the Moon.”
Untold Stories of the Apollo 13 Engineers | OUP Blog
“As it was, the engineers had just enough time to work the myriad, entangled problems and get them home. The triumph of Apollo 13 highlighted the work of engineers for the general public like no other mission. With the astronauts mainly just shivering for a few days, broadcasts had to at least attempt covering technical challenges, clever emergency fixes, and the years of careful planning that had paid off.”