There is an urban legend that goes like this:

Thought for the day.

During the space race back in the 1960's, NASA was faced with a major problem. The astronaut needed a pen that would write in the vacuum of space. NASA went to work. At a cost of $1.5 million they developed the "Astronaut Pen". Some of you may remember. It enjoyed minor success on the commercial market.

The Russians were faced with the same dilemma.

They used a pencil.

Amusing story. Just happens not to be true. NASA never spent money to develop a space pen. Ever. For the full story of what really happened, see what Dwayne A. Day
on The Space Review writes about it.