NASA commissioned and received the study titled “Engineering Man for Space: The Cyborg Study.” In the early days of space exploration, the question arose as to whether it was best to surround humans with expensive, delicate, and cumbersome life support systems in space, or rather, to strengthen humans themselves to adapt to the environmental conditions of space.

The continuum hypothesis is solved by Paul Cohen, or Hilbert’s first problem: it is impossible to prove that there exists a set of numbers with a dimension greater than fractional numbers and less than real numbers, and, at the same time, it is impossible to prove that such a set does not exist.

Paul Cohen of Stanford University discovers specific questions in mathematics that are undecidable, in accordance with Gödel’s Theorem; one of these questions is the continuum hypothesis, which David Hilbert had included among the 23 most important problems in mathematics.

German Chancellor Adenauer resigns

Federico Fellini was invited to the Moscow Film Festival with his famous 8 1/2, but it was decided that he would never win. The jurors rebelled, so Khrushchev demanded to see the film. After five minutes, he was snoring profusely. When awakened at the end of the film, he declared, “This film is awful, but it’s harmless!”

French President de Gaulle vetoed Britain’s first attempt to join the European Community (the British had initially withdrawn from negotiations to form the European Community, only to see them unexpectedly succeed). He would also veto the second attempt, in 1967. It was not until de Gaulle’s death that Britain’s successful entry into the European Community in 1971, which would later become the European Union (from which Britain would vote to leave—a twist of fate…)

Linus Pauling awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Edward Lorenz demonstrates the limits of predictability in meteorology (part of Chaos theory)

Edward Lorenz discovers strange attractors

At the Palomar Observatory (USA) the first 2 quasars were identified by Schmidt, Greenstein, Matthews

New Zealander Roy Kerr finds a set of solutions to the equations of general relativity that describe black holes that enjoy greater generality than the Schwarzschild equations.

Two Russian scientists, Evgenij Lifsitz and Isaac Khalatnikov, suggest that the Big Bang could be a simple peculiarity of the Friedman models and that a high-density (non-infinite) initial state would be more plausible.

Gell-Mann predicts the existence of the omega elementary particle composed of three strange quarks (sss); the prediction is quickly confirmed experimentally at Brookhaven National Lab.

The USSR had its own program for using nuclear explosions for engineering purposes to shape the terrain on a large scale: by 1986 it had carried out 175 explosions for this purpose; only the Chernobyl disaster led the authorities to interrupt the experiments.

The United States has two programs for the use of nuclear explosions for engineering purposes to shape the land on a large scale: the Chariot project and the Plowshire project (abandoned in 1974 after 15 test explosions) which among other things plans to dig a huge Panama Canal (an idea abandoned in 1970): the mind and main supporter of the projects is Edward Teller.

The USSR conducts its last atmospheric nuclear test; from now on it will only conduct underground tests (494 until 1990).

The USSR detonates a 22 Mton thermonuclear device dropped from an airplane

The American probe Mariner 2 arrives at Venus

Second launch of Project Highwater: As part of the Apollo-Saturn program, the effect of releasing large quantities of liquid hydrogen and oxygen into the upper atmosphere is being tested.

Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda meets French President Charles de Gaulle in Paris and brings him a small gift: a transistor radio. De Gaulle comments to an aide that Japan doesn’t look like an economic powerhouse if its Prime Minister Ikeda appears to be a small-time transistor radio salesman. But those transistors will make Japan a major world power, even surpassing France in GDP.

The last American atmospheric nuclear test was “TightTrope”; from this point on, the Americans would only conduct underground experiments: 751 until 1992, plus 5 deliberately unconfined crater-forming tests, and 4 zero-power surface safety tests.

A fourth Soviet Mars-Molniya mission finally succeeds and reaches Martian orbit.

Cuban Missile Crisis: The US SAC flew 2,088 high-alert missions with nuclear weapons on board, approximately 50,000 flight hours in total, without a single incident. It must be said that the procedures, continuous and rigorous training, and discipline introduced by LeMay paid off in this case.

Khrushchev orders the dismantling of missile bases in Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet President Khrushchev accepts

Cuban Missile Crisis: US President Kennedy publicly accepts the first Soviet proposal, and also secretly agrees to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey

Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet President Khrushchev makes second proposal, calling for withdrawal of US Jupiter missiles in Türkiye

On the very same day as the downing of a U-2 over Cuba, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, another U-2 aircraft flying over the Arctic Sea accidentally violates Soviet territorial space and enters Siberia. The pilot, Charles Maultsby, had orders to take atmospheric samples over the Arctic Sea to check for traces of radioactivity and verify possible Soviet nuclear tests, as he had done dozens of times before. But this time, the route is different: the Northern Lights interfere with his instruments, and he loses his way. He finds himself over Siberia, pursued by MiGs, and American fighters scramble to rescue him from Alaska. It’s DEFCON 3, and the rules of engagement in this case state that fighters can use nuclear weapons to shoot down enemy aircraft. Somehow, a dogfight between the fighters is averted, and the incident ends without consequences. Washington orders an immediate suspension of U-2 flights.

Cuban Missile Crisis: A U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba.

Mao’s China and India’s troops face each other in the western Himalayas, locked in a stalemate.

Cuban Missile Crisis. During an evening address to the nation by John F. Kennedy, the DEFCON level drops to 3, which means: submarines equipped with Polaris nuclear missiles leave American ports bound for locations off the coast of the USSR, US Air Force fighters take to the skies armed with tactical nuclear anti-aircraft missiles (Genie and Falcon), over 200 B-47 bombers position themselves at civilian airfields, ready for takeoff with thermonuclear weapons, the crew sleeps in tents alongside the planes a few hundred meters from civilian flights, and every day 65 B-52s remain in the air and approach the territorial border of the USSR, each with a Hound Dog nuclear missile and two Mark-39s or four Mark-28s. And that’s not all: after two days, the DEFCON drops to 2…

Kennedy implements naval blockade of Cuba

Cuba. After the latest photos received from spy planes, the White House debates what to do. Ted Sorensen proposes sending in the 82nd Airborne, Curtis LeMay suggests deploying force, Vice President Johnson suggests cutting off the snake’s head, Dean Acheson says the Russians would retaliate against Turkey and the Americans, under the Atlantic Pact, would be forced to attack the USSR directly. What the Americans don’t know is that the Cubans have an agreement with the Soviets stipulating that in the event of an American attack, they must launch nine missiles against the United States. Sergei Khrushchev himself will later reveal that this was the plan to stop the invasion.

An early Soviet Venera-Molniya mission fails to enter Earth orbit.

Russians conduct first double launch: two Vostoks arrive within 5km of each other

Marilyn Monroe found dead. On August 5, 1962, the famous actress was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Born in 1926, Norma Jean Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, remains one of the world’s most enduring sex symbols. She was the most famous actress of her time, and her 23 films grossed over $200 million. Boasting a natural comedic talent, her voluptuous style, platinum blonde hair, and languid gaze were widely imitated. When her body was discovered, a bottle containing barbiturate residue was found near her bed, leading police to believe it was a suicide. This conclusion raised some doubts, but these only served to increase the aura of fascination and mystery surrounding the diva.