In the summer of 1942, Los Alamos, New Mexico, became the center of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. Army’s secret mission to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. Nicholas Lewis, a historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory, explained that the project was driven by fears that Nazi Germany was developing its own bomb.
Development and Testing
Scientists at Los Alamos made breakthroughs in atomic fission, plutonium research, and bomb design. On July 16, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity test site in southern New Mexico. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, helping end World War II while introducing humanity to the devastating power of nuclear warfare.
For many New Mexicans, the story of the Trinity test did not end in 1945. Tina Cordova, cofounder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, advocates for families exposed to radiation from the test. Downwind communities fought for decades for recognition and compensation, achieving success in 2025.
Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.
