America's moon base plan: Cold War ambitions revealed
In the 1950s and 60s, during the height of the Cold War and the intense space race, the American military developed an ambitious plan to build a military base on the Moon. The project, named "Horizon", proposed the creation of a nuclear intelligence station staffed by armed soldiers who would conduct defensive operations and gather intelligence data from the lunar surface.
According to a 1959 report prepared by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, the station was to be ready by 1965, and its crew—initially composed of two, eventually twelve soldiers—was to be equipped with specially designed weapons for space operations. The armament included pistols and weapons modelled after claymore-type explosives, even though the base itself was planned as an intelligence and communication facility.
A base with weapons on the Moon - USA's ambitious plan
As reported by Task&Purpose, the Horizon project required the gradual delivery of building materials and supplies. In 1965, the army planned to begin a series of Saturn I and II rocket launches to transport personnel and necessary resources to the Moon. By November 1966, the facility's construction was expected to be completed, and in the following years, the base was to expand. Nuclear reactors would have been the primary energy source for the station, and the base was to consist of interconnected modules allowing for further expansion.
Although this idea seems futuristic today, the American military did not hesitate to pursue the boldest concepts during the Cold War. The "Acoustic Kitty" programme emerged in the 1960s and aimed at training domestic cats to spy on the Soviet Union.
Despite the advanced plans and military enthusiasm, Project Horizon was ultimately dismissed for financial reasons. The venture's cost, amounting to 4.9 billion pounds, was considered too high. Consequently, President Dwight D. Eisenhower did not agree to continue the project, and his successor, John F. Kennedy, although supportive of space programme development, did not revive this initiative. Ultimately, responsibility for space exploration fell to NASA, and Project Horizon became merely a curiosity and an inspiration for conceptual visions of the future.
