Þjálfun geimfara á Íslandi

Í nýjasta hefti tímaritsins Sögu (það er 1. hefti 2010) birtist greinin „Þetta voru ævintýraferðir“. Þjálfun geimfara á Íslands 1965 og 1967 eftir undirritaðan

Efniskynning á íslensku: Hvað voru bandarískir geimfarar að gera á hálendi Íslands sumrin 1965 og 1967? Voru þeir hér að æfa sig fyrir hvernig ætti að ganga á tunglinu – eða voru þeir að nema jarðfræði? Í greininni er sagt frá því hverjir af tunglförunum tólf komu til æfinga á Íslands ásamt frásögn af ferðalögum þeirra á Íslandi, tómstundaiðju þeirra og fjölmiðlaumfjölluninni um ferðalagið. Greinin byggist á rituðum heimildum, svo sem dagblöðum samtímans og gögnum frá Bandarísku geimferðastofnuninni, viðtölum við níu af þeim Íslendingum sem fóru með geimförunum upp á hálendið og viðtali við einn af tunglförunum. 

Efniskynning á ensku: In 1965 and 1967, NASA brought astronauts to Iceland to receive training for the Appollo mission that first brought man to the moon. Of twelve men who have landed on the moon, nine were trained in Iceland in either of the training trips. In the article, it is explained how this training was conducted, and questions about the importance of the training in Iceland and why Iceland was chosen for the training are answered. Further, it is discussed what kind of importance the astronaut training in Iceland had for the country. The article deals with the story in the common discourse in Iceland, often communicated to foreign tourists, that Iceland was chosen for the training because of its moonlike landscape. Sources from NASA and an interview with one of the austronauts who landed on the moon reveal that the training in Iceland was primarily a part of the general geological training where the astronauts were trained to observe and understand a variety of rock types and formations — not because of the particular landscape in Iceland. During the training in Iceland, the astronauts collected specimen and described what they saw, and they discussed their findings in a seminar form after they had spent a day of observations at Askja and some other places in the Icelandic interior. The Icelandic media was highly interested in these events. Several journalists and photographers travelled with the astronauts and wrote stories in the newspapers and for the only radio station in the country. Sources not previously mentioned in the abstract include written material from the newspapers in the 1960s and from NASA, as well as interviews with nine Icelanders—geologists, journalists, bus drivers, chefs—who travelled with the astronauts.