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@PTR_K @nyrath

Note that this also puts the lie to the idea that you can't use pencils in space because of shavings.

(It's a bad idea to SHARPEN them by conventional means).

@Nick_Stevens_graphics @PTR_K @nyrath Wood pencils, I assume, would be a bad idea? But I see no reason why a propelling pencil would be problematic as long as the user didn't make a habit of over-extending and breaking off the lead.

@cstross @PTR_K @nyrath

1. Leonov didn't use his pencils enough to wear them down.

2. You are correct, they developed a special propelling pencil for the Soviet space program here in Moldova. I saw one in a small museum, got a photo somewhere...

@Nick_Stevens_graphics @PTR_K @nyrath

Although, really, colored pencils shouldn't be a problem anyway because they're wax-based and not graphite, so you aren't going to be generating conductive dust around the electronics.

Now, given the choice of pencil to take into space, I'd go with grease pencils every time...

@Nick_Stevens_graphics @PTR_K @nyrath

Also, thanks to the Eclipse Aviation web site ( eclipseaviation.com/why-nasa-a ), I have just read the sentence "The reason for this is quite simple: pencils don’t work in space. The lead in a pencil is held together by gravity, and in the microgravity environment of space, there is no gravity to keep the lead in place. This means that, when an astronaut tries to write with a pencil in space, the lead simply breaks off and floats away."

In accordance with the theory of intellectual osmosis, I must now close that tab while I can still remember how to put my pants on.

www.eclipseaviation.comWhy NASA Astronauts Use Pens Instead Of Pencils – EclipseAviation.com

@cerebrate @Nick_Stevens_graphics @nyrath
🤦‍♂️

"This is a 'BROKEN PENCIL' situation. It's a Class 4 Strategic Theatre Emergency. It's what we call it when we lose a work of art in orbit."

"I don't know what's scarier, losing a piece of space art, or that it happens so often there's actually a term for it."

- Broken Pencil (1996) starring John Travolta & Christian Slater.