Harper's Magazine May 1952 "Space Ships in the Offing"

Something different (and non-illustrated) today.  I found this interesting article in Harper's Magazine published in May of 1952. It outlines some of the current thoughts about spaceflight at the time. More interestingly it shares a debate about whether manned exploration is necessary. While this is not my usual post I am fascinated by how there was a decision point where people needed to be convinced whether or not to support space travel.

 This first article "The astronauts are serious" tries to convince the reader that this idea is not science fiction but a soon to come reality.

The second article tries to explain why space travel is a bad idea with too many unknowns.

I will be offline for a little while but look forward to my July postings as a share a series of 6 coloring books about the Moon landings. See you then!