Because nuclear bombs offer one of the handful of ways humanity could potentially end itselfOpens in a new tab, the gargantuan destruction they cause is worth thinking about. To imagine what would happen if someone detonated a modern nuclear bombOpens in a new tab within a city, for example, reveals a nightmare beyond imagination. Now, we also have a look at what would happen if humanity nuked the Moon.
The YouTube channel KurzgesagtOpens in a new tab—which literally translates to “in a nutshell” from German—created the above video. The channel has previously made countless explainers educating people on complex topics, from “stellar engines”Opens in a new tab to genetic engineeringOpens in a new tab. As well as other frightening nuclear-bomb scenariosOpens in a new tab.
Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt notes the impetus for the video was a study the U.S. Air Force commissioned during the Cold War. During the period, spanning from the late ’40s to the early ’90s, the MoonOpens in a new tab was a consideration for military bases. As part of the exploration into what the Moon could offer a nuclear-armed nation, the study modeled what would happen if we nuked it.
Using a 100 Megaton thermonuclear warhead as a reference—that’s twice as powerful as the most powerful one ever detonatedOpens in a new tab—Kurzgesagt shows how nuking the Moon would create a massive explosion on its surface; one unimpeded by an atmosphere, allowing it to expand much further than it would here on Earth.
Armour Research FoundationOpens in a new tab
The lack of atmosphere would also mean anyone looking at the nuclear bomb blast would die. Kurzgesagt notes that Earth’s atmosphere is ultimately what stops the radiation from nuclear bomb explosions from spreading. But on the Moon, it would radiate freely, and even kill people in orbiting spaceships.
The theatrics would be quick, however, and, in a cosmological sense, the explosion wouldn’t be that remarkable. The study foundOpens in a new tab the Moon’s orbit would be unchanged (Kurzgesagt says a nuke would move the Moon as much as somebody blowing air would move a truck), and it would simply be left with another crater on its surface.
For humanity, however, the bomb blast would be quite terrible. Pieces of the Moon would rain down on Earth and wipe out satellites and spacecraft in orbit. There would also be radioactive debris on the Moon’s surface. But while terrible, this is nothing compared to what would happen if we detonated a nukeOpens in a new tab on Earth.
