Fragments from pencils can float in space, and pencil leads can break and pose dangers to astronauts and equipment in a microgravity environment.
In the 1960s, when humans first ventured beyond the Earth’s surface into the microgravity of outer space, they quickly discovered that the ballpoint pens designed for use in gravity were ineffective.
NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy checks the list of procedures on the Space Shuttle Atlantis with a ballpoint pen in 2002. (Photo: NASA).
According to reports, NASA spent millions of dollars developing a ballpoint pen suitable for microgravity. However, Soviet astronauts were said to have solved the problem simply by using pencils. This story became an interesting anecdote that circulated for decades. However, much of the story is not true, as Science Alert reported on June 9.
Initially, both Soviet and American astronauts used pencils in space. NASA invested money to research ballpoint pens for space use but soon scrapped the project when costs began to escalate.
The private company Fisher Pen funded the development of a new pen called the Fisher Space Pen. By the late 1960s, after the Fisher Space Pen was launched on the market, both Soviet and American astronauts used this pen when writing in microgravity.
So why don’t astronauts use pencils? The reason is that they do not want pencil fragments floating in space. Pencil leads can break and pose dangers. Additionally, they also do not want flammable wood fragments or tiny electrically conductive graphite particles falling from pencils while writing.
Any small particle that could get stuck in delicate machinery poses a danger in space. Fire is also a significant issue on spacecraft, and NASA does not take this lightly, especially after the fire that killed all three members of the Apollo 1 mission in 1967.
Ballpoint pens at that time were also a hazard. The first commercially successful ballpoint pen was introduced in 1945 and was known to leak frequently, according to Paul C. Fisher, the founder of Fisher Pen. Ink droplets floating around were not something astronauts wanted to see on their spacecraft.
Astronaut R. Walter Cunningham using a Fisher Pen during Apollo 7 in 1968. (Photo: NASA).
Apollo astronauts used felt-tip pens produced by Duro Pen. In fact, a felt-tip pen saved the Apollo 11 mission when an essential switch broke. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin inserted the pen’s ink cartridge into the hole left behind, allowing the spacecraft module to launch from the Moon. However, they also used ballpoint pens after Paul C. Fisher, along with Friedrich Schächter and Erwin Rath, perfected the space pen and filed the first patent in 1965.
Scientists added plastic to the ink to prevent leaks. Additionally, the new pen used a pressurized ink cartridge and worked under conditions where regular ballpoint pens would struggle: large temperature fluctuations, writing upside down, or on slippery surfaces.
Fisher proposed selling the new pen to NASA. After rigorous testing, NASA decided to purchase them for the Apollo missions. Ultimately, the Fisher Space Pen debuted on Apollo 7 in 1968.
The Fisher Space Pen is still in use today, but astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) now have more options. They are provided with multicolored Sharpie pens and even pencils, but mechanical pencils rather than wooden ones.
“Crew members typically use mechanical pencils to write down necessary numerical values to conduct procedures on the spacecraft (launch times, engine configurations…). The ability to erase while procedures are ongoing is fantastic, especially when situations change, which happens frequently,” explained NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson.
The pencil lead can still break, but technological advancements enable the filtration systems on the ISS to effectively remove dangerous debris.
