On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the Moon marking a historic and remarkable achievement for mankind during the Apollo 11 mission by NASA. After this mission, Apollo 17 was the final crewed mission to land on the Moon in the December 1972. The Moon landing was “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”- as quoted by Neil Armstrong. This mission was a result of the Space Race between the USSR and the USA. Because humans have not returned to the Moon since 1972, many people came up with various questions and conspiracy theories suggesting that the Moon landing was ‘fake’ or ‘enacted’. Let’s look at some of them and try to explain or ‘debunk’ them.
The Flag was waving in space:-
Since the Moon has minimal to no atmosphere, people questioned how the flag waved in the video broadcasted by the Moon lander. A horizontal rod was also added to keep the flag extended and while extending it the flag kept waving as the astronauts tried to hoist the flag. This made the flag wave and have wrinkles. In the video it can be seen that once the flag pole or the flag was stopped being touched by the astronauts, it stopped after sometime, because due to minimal air there was minimal air resistance.
No stars in the photo:-
Many question the fact that in the photos and videos, there are no stars visible. This is because the landing was made when it was daytime on the surface of the Moon. As well as the camera exposure was set according to this bright lunar surface. If it had been night on the Moon and the exposure would have been set right, countless stars would have been captured.
Shadows in different directions:-
One argument is that shadows are formed in the video in different directions signifying that there are multiple light sources such as in a filming studio. But the real reason is that due to Moon’s uneven terrain distribution and lens distortion (due to a wide-angled lens, parallel shadows appeared non-parallel). The Sun was the only major light source.
Why didn’t the blast crater form under the lander?
Blast crater didn’t form under the lander or landing module because it used a low-throttle descent engine to land. Due to the conditions being near vacuum, the pressure is also reduced right beneath due to a cone forming in the exhaust. Also the engines were shut off right before it landed on the surface of the Moon. But even after these, Moon dust was blown off but since the composition of Moon is different from earth and the engine throttle was not enough, a crater was not formed.
Radiation would have killed them:-
People also questioned why radiation didn’t affect them since Van Allen radiation belts are so deadly. Why were they not deep fried? The answer lies in the fact that they were in transit for a very short amount of time. Additionally spacecraft shielding also helped them survive in these wild and lethal conditions while travelling to the Moon. Additionally on the surface of the Moon, their spacesuits were designed to provide limited radiation protection.
Questions regarding footprints:-
Some said that footprints should not exist on the surface of the Moon because they can’t exist without water like how on dried land they do not exist on the earth. Like sand on earth, Moon dust is sharp and jagged and will easily form footsteps when stepped on it. While another question arose that the footprints in the photos of the Moon and the displayed spacesuits worn by the astronauts do not match. That is because special pads underneath the spacesuit boots were worn when leaving the landing module, so as to not pollute the landing module or orbiter with Moon dust which could have caused fatal damage to the electrical equipment. Also these footprints may remain there for millions of years because the Moon has no water or wind, so the next time humans visit the Moon they will still be there.
The C on a rock:-
It was a common question regarding an image that a C was written on rock in the photos of the landing. It was just a small photographic marking or an artefact, not a big deal.
Why haven’t we gone back:-
If we went on the Moon in the year 1969, why haven’t we gone back if our technology has become so much better – a question in the majority’s mind. The Moon landing was planned to win the Space Race (a part of the Cold War) between the USSR and the USA. It was due to competition that space science peaked. But once the USA landed on the Moon, the Space Race unofficially ended with the USA winning it. After it there was no motivation to go on the Moon again and the last mission Apollo 17 in the year 1972 was the last time ever humans set foot on the Moon. Additional factors are budget reductions, geopolitics and focus on other problems.
It was filmed by Stanley Kubrick:-
A rumour spread that the Moon landing was filmed by Stanley Kubrick – a famous director at the time. It has no evidence and the rumour has been debunked several times. A famous joke also arises from this which goes like – Stanley Kubrick was given the task to fake the Moon landing, but he was such a perfectionist that he insisted on filming it on location.
Cold War propaganda:-
As discussed earlier, the Moon landing’s motivation was to win the Space Race. Many people conspire that it was just Cold War propaganda and just fake landing to win the race to the Moon. This is debunked by the fact that their competitor USSR, closely and independently monitored the whole mission and after landing even acknowledged the landing and applauded NASA, which is the final nail in the coffin.
This concludes all the different conspiracies regarding the Moon landing and how it was fake. Conspiracies survive because they are emotionally satisfying. Physics survives because it is testable. Lastly, the upcoming Artemis missions planned by NASA aim to return humans to the Moon again.
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