I also hate the snide comments of people who talk about the pencil, and the creation of the pressurised pen is genius. However NASA could have just used a normal biro like the russians did which works just as well in space.

as spanish astronaut pedro durque said “I am writing these notes in the Soyuz with a cheap ballpoint pen … I’ve been working in space programmes for 17 years, 11 of these as an astronaut, and I’ve always believed, because that is what I’ve always been told, that normal ballpoints don’t work in space. ‘The ink doesn’t fall’, they said … During my first flight I took with me one of those very expensive ballpoint pens with a pressure ink cartridge, the same as the other Shuttle astronauts. But the other day I was with my Soyuz instructor and I saw he was preparing the books for the flight, and he was attaching a ballpoint pen with a string for us to write once we were in orbit. Seeing my astonishment, he told me the Russians have always used ballpoint pens in space. So I also took one of our ballpoint pens, courtesy of the European Space Agency (just in case Russian ballpoint pens are special), and here I am, it doesn’t stop working and it doesn’t ‘spit’ or anything. Sometimes being too cautious keeps you from trying, and therefore things are built more complex than necessary.”

why not a stabilo

www.dickblick.com/products/stabilo-colored-marking-pencils/

easy to understand the attraction though of that story – for someone of scant intellect or exposure to math and science – the chance to laugh at “rocket scientists”.