New explanations for suspicious details in the footage of the historic landing
9.11.2002
NASA has canceled the publication of a book challenging conspiracy theorists. The claim was that such a book, certainly if published with NASA funding, would legitimize these claims. NASA's critics claim that it shows poor judgment and lack of confidence.
On the same topic on the science website:
- Fox movie: NASA fabricated the moon landing
- Smart 1 photographed the landing sites of the Apollo spacecraft
- 2009: The LRO spacecraft photographed the landing sites just before marking the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing
NASA hired science writer Jim Oberg to write the book for a fee of $15. Oberg announced that he will continue the work with alternative funding, and will publish the book unofficially. The book will prove one by one the error of the propagandists of the theory that the Apollo landing was faked in movie studios just to prove to the Russians that they allegedly lost the race. Among other things, it will explain where the stars have gone, why the flag flies despite the lack of atmosphere and why the shadows fall at strange angles.
According to the theory, the American moon landing was filmed at the site by the United States, which was eager to get ahead of the Soviet Union in the space race. Many proofs of this can be found in photographs taken from the moon: there are no stars in the night sky in the background; The US flag placed by the astronauts seems to be entertained by the wind, even though there is no wind on the surface of the moon; And the footprints of their shoes can be seen embedded in the moon dust, despite the operation of the nearby space vehicle engine.
About a year ago, this connection theory was at the center of a program on the "Fox" television network, under the title "Did we really land on the moon?" doubted that in 1969 the American space agency, NASA, had the necessary technology for such an operation. About two months ago, the theory returned to the headlines, when one of its prominent adherents, filmmaker Bart Siebel, confronted astronaut Buzz Aldrin at a hotel in Beverly Hills. Siberl demanded that Aldrin swear on the Holy Scriptures that he had indeed landed on the moon; Aldrin preferred to punch him in the face.
That is why NASA decided to respond to the claims. In the process - which the skeptics will surely perceive as part of the conspiratorial fabric - the agency will publish a document detailing the evidence that the landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the moon in July 1969 did take place. "It was more difficult to fake the whole thing than to do it," NASA officials write on the agency's website, and turn to refute the main claims of the landing deniers, but in the end, as mentioned, the book was shelved.
A central "proof" of those who believe in the conspiracy concerns the fact that no stars are visible in the sky recorded in photographs from the moon. "Did the NASA cinematographers forget to turn on the stars?" they ask However, the logical explanation for the phenomenon is familiar to people involved in photography: it is difficult to document in one image, at the same level of exposure to light, a large and very bright object, such as the surface of the moon or the earth visible in the background, and a small and very dim object, such as the distant stars. Filmmakers are also forced to "fake" stars and add them to night scenes, since the cameras are aimed at the actors and do not pick up the stars in the background.
The explanation for the claim about the waving flag is even simpler. The astronauts had to rotate the flag pole to anchor it in the lunar soil, and the rotation - and not any air movement - caused the fabric to flutter. Such waving on Earth would have stopped after a short time due to the friction with the air, but under the conditions on the moon the flag continued to wave.
The claim about the footprints of the astronauts on the moon, claims that deny the connection theory, attributes to the engine of the space vehicle a higher power than the one in which it was operating. The power of the engine was relatively low - the one needed to balance the vehicle on the surface of the moon - and therefore its operation resulted in the scattering of a few centimeters of dust only under the vehicle itself, and did not erase the marks of the astronauts' shoes.
In addition to denying the claims, NASA also presents positive evidence for landing on the moon, primarily the unique rocks, weighing 381 kg, that the astronauts brought with them to Earth. In addition, Russia, China, East Germany and other enemies of the USA during the Cold War closely followed its space missions, and could check whether the radio signals from Apollo actually came from the direction of the moon. Not one of them questioned the American achievement. "When even your enemy recognizes your achievements - it's pretty convincing!" NASA claims.
