The American reaction to Sputnik was diverse, to say the least. Some people were terrified. Some were excited by the scientific prospects of the now-dawned space age. Others immediately jumped to ways to match then beat the Soviets. And one Air Force Physicist, Leonard Reiffel, thought the best course of action in the wake of Sputnik was to nuke the Moon…

The idea was summed up in a 1958 report somewhat innocuously titled A Study