# Has anyone ever fired a gun in space or on the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-fired-a-gun-in-space-or-on-the-moon/396545 "2007-03-19T11:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-fired-a-gun-in-space-or-on-the-moon/396545/61 "2016-04-11T11:15:43Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > As has been mentioned, [the Soviets had firearms on their spaceships](http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/10/13/tp-82-russian-space-pistol-shotgun-carbine-flare-gun-no-longer-being-carried-into-space/) - not for any _Comrade Rouble Rogersovitch in the 26th Century_-type shenanigans, but for defence against wild animals or signalling for help in the interval between landing in the middle of nowhere and someone coming to get them. It’s completely different, though, whether you have a spacecraft-mounted firearm pointing away from the ship, or something that can be fired ABOARD the ship. > [@](#): > > Since Russian spacecraft have guns in their survival kits, and Russians spacecraft are the only ones taking people to and from orbit at the moment, this seems fairly realistic to me. Heinlein even got the rationale correct. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-fired-a-gun-in-space-or-on-the-moon/396545/62 "2016-04-11T11:58:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s completely different, though, whether you have a spacecraft-mounted firearm pointing away from the ship, or something that can be fired ABOARD the ship. > > […] > > Cite? Did you look at the link? It’s an actual firearm - a combination shotgun/flaregun/handgun/machete, which could (theoretically) be fired aboard a spaceship. And obviously they had ammunition for it aboard too. Also, the same page mentions the Russians have semi-auto handguns in their current survival kits. I know it’s Wikipedia, but even so, it doesn’t seem particularly unlikely to me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-fired-a-gun-in-space-or-on-the-moon/396545/63 "2016-04-11T15:03:20Z")
If you’re in the moon, and standing on a treadmill, and fire a gun … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-fired-a-gun-in-space-or-on-the-moon/396545.md?page=3)