First contact with the Moon in 1946...
Item # 726647
January 26, 1946
CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, Jan. 26, 1946
* "Project Diana" - First contact with the Moon (radar)
* Prelude to the "Space Race" with the Soviet Union
* The Birth of "Moonbounce" Espionage - ionosphere
The top of page 5 has a one column heading: "RADAR CALLED A TRAILBLAZER FOR MOON SHIPS" with subheads. (see images) This was considered a precursor the "Space Race" with the Soviet Union.
Complete with all 24 pages, small binding holes along the spine, small address stamp within the masthead, generally in very nice condition.
Background: The success of Project Diana on January 25, 1946, serves as the true "opening shot" of the Space Age, transforming the Moon from a distant celestial mystery into a tangible destination for human endeavor. By successfully bouncing a radar signal off the lunar surface and detecting its return 2.5 seconds later, the U.S. Army Signal Corps provided the first empirical proof that radio waves could penetrate the Earth’s ionosphere, effectively shattering the "atmospheric ceiling" that many feared would keep humanity terrestrially bound. This breakthrough didn't just birth the field of radar astronomy; it established the fundamental communication framework required for all future satellite technology, deep-space probes, and the Apollo missions. Beyond the technical achievement, it represented a profound psychological shift in the post-WWII era, moving the global scientific focus from the destructive physics of the atomic bomb toward the constructive, exploratory physics of the cosmos, laying the essential groundwork for the Cold War Space Race that would follow a decade later.
* "Project Diana" - First contact with the Moon (radar)
* Prelude to the "Space Race" with the Soviet Union
* The Birth of "Moonbounce" Espionage - ionosphere
The top of page 5 has a one column heading: "RADAR CALLED A TRAILBLAZER FOR MOON SHIPS" with subheads. (see images) This was considered a precursor the "Space Race" with the Soviet Union.
Complete with all 24 pages, small binding holes along the spine, small address stamp within the masthead, generally in very nice condition.
Background: The success of Project Diana on January 25, 1946, serves as the true "opening shot" of the Space Age, transforming the Moon from a distant celestial mystery into a tangible destination for human endeavor. By successfully bouncing a radar signal off the lunar surface and detecting its return 2.5 seconds later, the U.S. Army Signal Corps provided the first empirical proof that radio waves could penetrate the Earth’s ionosphere, effectively shattering the "atmospheric ceiling" that many feared would keep humanity terrestrially bound. This breakthrough didn't just birth the field of radar astronomy; it established the fundamental communication framework required for all future satellite technology, deep-space probes, and the Apollo missions. Beyond the technical achievement, it represented a profound psychological shift in the post-WWII era, moving the global scientific focus from the destructive physics of the atomic bomb toward the constructive, exploratory physics of the cosmos, laying the essential groundwork for the Cold War Space Race that would follow a decade later.
Category: The 20th Century
