CBS News reported on Nov. 26, 2012 that during the Cold War the United States had considered detonating a nuclear device on the moon to send a message to the Soviet Union. Military officials rejected the idea because of possible harm to people on the Earth. The abstract for the unclassified 1959 report about the project, "A Study of Lunar Research Flights, Vol I," states:

Nuclear detonations in thc vicinity of the moon are considered in this report along with scientific information which might be obtained from such explosions. The military aspect is aided by investigation of space environment, detection of nuclear device testing, and capability of weapons in space.