Departments January/February 2022

You Can’t Fly on The Moon

By Alan J. Porter

“I like what you have Aero doing, but. . .” It was at that point I knew I’d made a mistake.

The email continued, “Having a superhero whose main attribute is flight is going to be tricky, because you can’t fly on the moon.”

This was the start of one of those once-in-a-lifetime “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation” moments. Here I was having an email exchange with an actual NASA lunar specialist about how we could use physics to ensure that a superhero character I’d created could function on the lunar surface. How did that happen?

Several years ago, I was lucky enough to work with the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) to produce a comic book aimed at promoting interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. In fact, TAME’s whole philosophy is to inspire and equip students from underrepresented groups to become future engineers.

The book we created introduced a team of teenage science-based superheroes called The Science Squad, and we produced a couple of issues: one on electricity and one about robotics and the environment. They proved to be a popular item among both students and teachers.

There were no definite plans to do a third book, until suddenly in 2019 I got an email letting me know that TAME had received some funding from NASA as part of a program with the WEX Foundation [https://www.wexfoundation.org/], who promote STEM through integrating space exploration technologies and project-based learning programs. As part of the funding, they wanted to do a new Science Squad comic — would I be interested?

The fun part of this engagement was that was well as doing the comic, I was also signed on to teach a series of classes on communication to a bunch of teenage potential rocket-scientists and astronauts, plus get to work alongside several NASA engineers and space program veterans.

The classroom sessions were at times challenging, but eventually the kids really bought into the idea of developing a comic plot together. They had some wild and crazy ideas (mutant giant lunar rats with coiled spring tails), as well as some great practical approaches to the project work they were doing on developing a viable lunar habitat.

The plot we developed together revolved around a group of astronauts setting up a lunar habitat when they are hit by a meteorite shower that causes widespread damage. Enter our heroes to work alongside the stranded astronauts to science their way out of trouble.

With the plot worked out it was then down to myself and my creative partner, artist Doug Potter, to bring it to life on the page. Getting to use many of the in development real-life lunar technology concepts and equipment in our story was an absolute thrill. Even if the NASA reviewers were quick to point out (in the nicest possible way) that we’d got the operational physics wrong on occasions. The longest conversation turned out to be a deep discussion about whether a particular door would be open or closed in certain circumstances. I think we got it right in the end. Oh, and we ended up giving Aero rocket boosters so he could indeed fly on the moon.


ALAN J. PORTER is a leading content strategist in the technical, business communications, and content marketing industries. He was recognized as one of the Top 25 Content Strategists in 2016 and 2017. In addition to his collaborations with NASA, he’s written fiction, pop culture nonfiction, and business books. See more at https://www.alanjporter.com.