To travel to the moon Apollo astronauts had to pass through the Van Allen radiation belts. NASA scientists eventually concluded that radiation exposure would be minimal with the shielding on the command module. Still, a proposal to purge the radiation with a nuclear explosion was considered. But the 1964 Starfish Prime atmospheric nuclear test actually enriched the radiation in the Van Allen belts.

• Amy Shira Teitel

• Amy Shira Teitel