5 facts about the space race that do not fit in your head

1. Zambia is in the space race

It is believed that only the USSR and the USA participated in the space race. But in fact, there was another player - and we are talking about Zambia.

Led her space program schoolteacher Edward Festus Makuka Nkoloso. He also had the distinction of founding the National (but unofficial) Academy of Sciences, Space Research and Philosophy in 1960. And later he became one of the members of the convention that drew up the constitution of an independent Zambia.

Nkoloso planned build a rocket out of aluminum and copper — both of which are abundant in the country — and send a 17-year-old local girl named Mata Mwambwa and two cats into space. In addition, on an abandoned farm near the capital, the self-proclaimed academic trained volunteers, whom he called the term "afronaut" he coined. They had to conquer orbit, moon and even Mars.

The training program included the following tests: descent from a hillside in a tank from under oil, walking on his hands - according to Nkoloso, this is an indispensable skill in the conditions of lunar gravity, as well as swinging on a swing, followed by chopping off a rope. The latter was supposed to imitate the feeling of weightlessness.

The main goal of Nkoloso was to send missionaries to Mars - so that they would bring the Christian doctrine to the "primitive" Martians. At the same time, he forbade the imposition of religion by force.

To implement these plans, Nkoloso requested UNESCO has a grant of 7 million Zambian pounds. He planned to take another 1.9 billion dollars from private foreign patrons.

But, unfortunately, the project did not receive funding. This unfortunate circumstance, as well as the fact that "Afronaut" Mata Mwambwa became pregnant at the wrong time and was forced to return home to her parents, led to the curtailment of the space program.

However, this did not prevent Nkoloso's brilliant career: he led Veterans Association of the city of Ndola, received the honorary rank of colonel and was awarded the Soviet commemorative medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War." He also ran for mayor of Lusaka to "turn the capital of Zambia into a world center of science and provide support for traditional African cults and shamanic medicine».

Interestingly, some of Nkoloso's compatriots believedthat he founded his "space program" only to fool around and laugh at developed countries that believe in the reality of the claims of the African state and write about it in newspapers. Or maybe donations will be dropped. If so, then the prank really worked.

2. Space race defines playground design

In the 60s, both in the USA and in the USSR, the design of slides and other carousels was purposefully developed with an eye on space topics. For example, in 1963 in Philadelphia there were established 160 playgrounds, where attractions were designed in the form of satellites and rockets. Naturally, this was done in order to arouse children's interest in space.

In addition to Philadelphia, such venues built in Texas, Missouri, California and many other states. Yes, they are in the UK there are still.

In the USSR, they were not going to lag behind and also began do their space-style playgrounds: to this day, in many cities of Russia and the CIS countries, you can see slides in the form of rockets and Soyuz ships.

3. The USSR hid for a long time how the dog Laika died in space

The first animal to enter earth orbit was a simple yard dog, Laika. Her flight into space was needed to prove that a living organism can survive after launch. rockets and continue to function in conditions of reduced gravity and high cosmic radiation.

The return of Laika to Earth was not planned. But supposedthat the dog will live in orbit for seven days - for this it was provided with a supply of provisions in a jelly-like form, and sensors were also connected to it to monitor breathing and heartbeat.

Laika placed into an apparatus called "The Simplest Sputnik 2", which was launched on November 3, 1957. They prepared the launch in a hurry to be in time for the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. Therefore, as often happens, something was messed up in the design of the rocket, and the R-7 sustainer engine did not separate from the capsule during the orbit.

This led to overheating of the satellite's cabin, and the poor animal died.

Such an incident would have slightly overshadowed the joy of the triumph of the Soviet genius, so for six days TASS reassuringly stated that the dog was in order and the flight program was being carried out properly. Then Laika was allegedly humanely put to sleep with a portion of poisoned food, and according to others data died when oxygen ran out.

For many years everyone was surethat Laika's space flight went according to plan. And only in October 2002, Dmitry Malashenkov, one of the scientists who participated in the Sputnik-2 mission, discovered the truth. At the World Space Congress in Houston, he informedthat the dog died on the fourth lap from overheating. And he said: "It turned out that it was almost impossible to create a reliable temperature control system in such a short time."

The device, in which the dog was, circled in space for five months and then, after 2,570 turns, burned out when falling into the atmosphere of the planet.

4. And the United States in orbit shocked chimpanzees

For the sake of space science, not only dogs suffered. So, the Americans launched into orbit chimpanzee, logically reasoning that these primates are closer to humans in terms of biology. The first simian astronaut was a chimpanzee named Ham.

The purpose of the mission was to figure outwhether he will be able to press the necessary levers in response to signals from Houston. This was necessary to understand whether outer space would affect the astronaut in such a way that he would lose the ability to control the capsule.

NASA logically reasoned that if a chimpanzee in orbit is not at a loss and can steer a ship, then a human astronaut will definitely do it.

In order to teach Ham and 40 other candidate monkeys to press the right levers in response to the appropriate signals, they were placed in a special simulator and electrodes were attached to their feet. Each time the animal chose the correct button, they were given a piece of banana when they got it wrong - electrocuted.

On January 31, 1961, Ham the chimpanzee was wearing a space suit and placed in the Mercury-Redstone-2 spacecraft. He successfully flew into space, becoming the first primate in orbit. Fortunately, the animal was not hurt - only a little nose bump during landing.

The next chimpanzee, Enos, was less fortunate. His capsule's on-board computer malfunctioned, and the poor fellow received 76 electric shocks - even though he successfully completed the flight program.

5. The US and the USSR wanted to blow up the moon with a nuclear bomb

It would seem that the Moon is a piece of stone that does not interfere with anyone and even brings noticeable benefits. For example, it provides ocean tides. Why try to blow it up? Well, the US and the USSR had their own plans.

In the United States, this initiative was Name "Project A119". It was supposed to detonate the bomb so that a giant dust cloud rose above the surface of the Moon, which could be studied using powerful telescopes.

This would help to obtain more data on the geology of the satellite and the composition of its soil.

Again, after the USSR was the first to send a satellite into space, which then many considered military, the United States had to show that they are no worse. And an explosion on the moon would be a clear show of force.

Later, however, the project was cancelled. Sending an atomic bomb on a rocket that might not reach the moon and fall on someone's head was considered too dangerous.

The Soviet Union also did not lag behind America in a passionate desire to destroy something space. As early as 1958, academics were considering detonating a hydrogen bomb on the Moon—the so-called "Project E-4." About him told the leading Soviet rocket scientist Boris Chertok, when the secrecy was removed.

Soviet scientists did not plan to study the lunar dust that had risen into space, but only wanted to create a brighter flash so that it could be observed from Earth. True, in the end, the party admitted that they got excited, and in 1968 they went into orbit of the moon and back brought several turtles. It's good when common sense wins out in the end.