"space exploration had certainly come a long way since the early days when the harmless sounding but deadly (8) and the (12) or the UFOs as they were known, terrorised unwary travellers."
the answers are names of sweets, chocolates, chewing gum, or chocolate bars.
the second answer is one word of 12 letters, 2 words of six letters will not fit, as that is already in the story elsewhere.