FORGOTTEN PLANS TO REACH THE MOON

Before Apollo, many ingenious lunar landing schemes were proposed that could have changed history

- Nigel Watson

Humanity has long fantasised about going to the Moon, but it was only in the 19th century that writers like Jules Verne and H. G. Wells began to think about using technology to make this dream a reality. The enthusiasm generated by such concepts, combined with the heating up of the Cold War, made the Moon a feasible target for exploration, propaganda and military exploitation. The outcome was several top-secret schemes developed by the US Air Force (USAF), US Army and independent privately funded contractors.

The USAF desired to be at the forefront of developing rocketry and spacecraft, feeling the urgent need to respond to the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957. In January 1958, USAF Brigadier General Homer A. Boushey gave a speech to the Aero Club in Washington, where he stated: “He who controls the Moon controls the Earth. Our planners must carefully evaluate this statement for, if true – and I for one think it is – then the US must control the Moon.”

In February 1958 the newly formed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) chose the USAF to run the nation’s space programs. Under the leadership of Harry Lee Evans, a comprehensive plan to conquer space was quickly put forward. Underlining the sense of urgency, the proposal was titled Man In Space Soonest (MISS). The hardware and flight capabilities of a simple one person, cone-shaped capsule would be tested in six robotic flights, followed by six more missions using animals to test life-support systems. Once these tests were passed, manned flights would begin. They would check out guidance and control systems, re-entry techniques and would culminate in a parachute landing at sea.