In honor of our conspiracy day last Thursday, I have decided to take a look into the one conspiracy theory that I never really got the time to get to know: the fake moon landing theory. Over the years, I have heard many people mention that they believed that the moon landing was staged, but I never really took the time to examine all the evidence at play. Lets look at the "facts":
1. Photographs taken on the moon by American astronauts were void of all stars in the background sky. Due to the fact that the moon has no atmosphere, shouldn't there be an abundance of stars? (This claim was later invalidated due to the fact that the reflection of light on the moon's surface was so bright that it would have been impossible to capture anything else).
2. Conspiracy theorists claim that there is a moon rock with the letter "C" on it, and while no real explanation presents itself, the letter "C" doesn't really have anything to do with anything.
3. Other Conspiracy theorists argue that there are different shadow lengths in the pictures taken by the astronauts, but NASA claims that this is due to the rocky and bumpy nature on the moon's surface, but how accurate is NASA's claim?
4. Video footage of the American flag on the moon seems to suggest that the flag is "flapping" in the breeze as if it was filmed outside or in an air conditioned building. As a result of the moon's lack of an atmosphere, such a "flapping" motion on the flag would have been physically impossible.
5. Hardcore conspiracy theorists claim that the footage of the astronauts jumping on the moon was simulated through slow motion cinematography and wires, but scientists refute this claim through evidence that if the astronauts were to be jumping on Earth, the dust that they kicked up would form clouds, rather than settling right back down on the surface of the "moon"
While this evidence may seem compelling and NASA's arguments's may seem a little splotchy, why would they want to fake the moon landing in the first place? The answer can be found in the Cold War. If you remember back to the Space Race, our initial rocket program was a complete and utter catastrophe. In order to catch up and show the world that the Soviet Union wasn't taking the upper hand in technology, NASA allegedly faked the moon landing, wowing the world, and once again taking its place at the top of the Cold War. You are ultimately the one's who decides for yourself, but keep in mind that things aren't always what they seem.
Afternote: With the stress of finals, this song might cheer you guys up. It was written about the moon landing hoax, and I found it to be very funny. You can find the video here.
This is a very interesting post. The Moon Landing conspiracy theories have always endured for years, despite a good amount of rebuttal from NASA and the unaffiliated scientific community. They aren't as popular as, say, 9/11 conspiracy theories, but there are a good amount of people who believe them. I remember my science teacher in 8th grade telling us that it would actually take more of an effort to stage and fake the landing than to actually succeed in the mission. Wikipedia (yes, I know) actually has great list of rebuttals to many of the claims of a hoax: http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_conspiracy_theories.html
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see that some people believe that the Moon Landing is a hoax due to the United States' competition with the Soviet Union during the Cold War and choose to refuse a historical moment.
ReplyDeleteConspiracy theories like this are usually so hard to come to because we are so set in the way things were taught. 9/11 and the moon landing are just examples of things we have been programmed to believe, and anyone who challenges them seem crazy.
ReplyDeleteBut we have to consider every possibility, and it would be a lie to say there is no evidence.
This conspiracy reminds me of one of the latest transformer movies where they used the first moon landing to further the fight between the Autobots and Dicepticons. In all honesty however, I believe that we went to the moon for the sheer achievement of doing so, not for any ulterior motives. I do believe strongly that the moon landing televised was fake and made by the government for the people of America
ReplyDeleteWhile the moon landing is widely accepted as truth, it is impossible to discount some of the points that the conspiracy theorists brought up. The fact that the flag seemed to wave, for example, is easily distinguished by its lack of scientific explanation.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the scientific proof is also to great to ignore. The Mythbusters once explored this, and found that it is impossible to emulate the lesser gravity walk used by the astronauts with the technology that they would have used to film such a fake. Therefore, although the theorists do bring up several flaws, it is most likely that the moon landings were true.