Monday, December 11, 2017

Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 Moon Landing by Jessica Sjostrom

Jessica Sjostrom
Hammett
English 1301
Dec. 10, 2017
Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
            “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” the infamous words of astronaut, Neil Armstrong, as he first stepped foot on the moon (Armstrong). That one phrase has since started a new found nationally and sense of pride in many Americans. Many children dream of becoming astronauts and accomplishing what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin accomplished on July 20, 1969 (“Apollo Moon Landing – 35th Anniversary”). However, this all might be a lie. Some believe NASA faked the moon landing to advance their position in the “space race” with Russia. Let's explore the moon landing and whether it was fake or real, with the most likely solution being that the moon landing was faked so the US could compete with Russia in the “space race”.
Image result for neil armstrong
            Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio (Dunbar). Armstrong has a brother and a sister (Dunbar). His father, Stephen Armstrong, was an auditor for the government. Due to his father’s occupation, their family was constantly moving around the state of Ohio. Armstrong lived in over 20 towns growing up, getting to experience different types of people and different ways of life. At the age of 6, Armstrong took his first flight in an airplane (Dunbar). He fell in love with the plane and flying itself and knew he wanted to fly for the rest of his life.
            To continue his studies outside of high school, Armstrong went to Purdue University and studied Aeronautical Engineering (“Biographical Data”). During his time in college, Armstrong began training to be a pilot in the US Navy. In 1951, he started his military service in the Korean War, flying 78 combat missions, and returning to school a year later (“Neil Armstrong”). After graduating from college, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (“Biographical Data”).
            As many may assume, Armstrong actually did not start his career at NASA as an astronaut. Armstrong actually started off as a research/test pilot and tested/flew many different types of planes and different types of aircraft (“Biographical Data”). He did, however, gain his astronaut status in 1962 (“Biographical Data”).  In 1966, Armstrong was the command pilot on his first space mission, Gemini 8 (“Biographical Data”). Armstrong became the first astronaut to successfully dock two vehicles in space (Dunbar). 
Image result for neil armstrong and karen
            Although Armstrong did complete some amazing things in his life, his life hasn’t always easy and full of reward. In 1962, the year he gained is astronaut status and four years before Gemini 8, his daughter, Karen, passed away of a glioma of the pons (Evans). Glioma of the pons is essentially a tumor in the base of the brain stem and is very rare to be found in children (Evans). Since treatment at that time was very new, Karen’s treatment destroyed not only the cancerous cells, but her healthy cells as well (Evans). Although his daughter’s death was something so tragic and saddening, her passing started a new fire within Armstrong. He had to put his positive energy into something. Armstrong used this sad situation and made something positive out of it. He put all his energy into his work and into new projects that NASA was taking on (Evans). This made him become a better contender to be chosen for the Apollo 11 Lunar Mission.
            You would think that the person chosen to lead the most famous space mission ever would be a person who enjoys the spotlight. With Armstrong, however, that is just not the case. A humble man by nature, Armstrong was not a fan of the spotlight (McDonald). He didn’t enjoy interviews, cameras, or signing autographs because he knew they would be sold for money (McDonald). Armstrong has the brain of an engineer. He wanted to get the job done right, the fastest way possible (McDonald). Also, Armstrong dealt very well under pressure (McDonald). He did not let stressful situations affect his job performance (McDonald). For example, on the Gemini 8 Mission, his spacecraft got sent into a rapid spin (McDonald). Armstrong was able to regain control of the spacecraft right before him and his crewmate blacked out (Armstrong). NASA knew what they were doing when they picked Armstrong to lead what has been the most controversial mission into space.

            When America landed on the moon in 1969, many historically changing events were taking place. Richard Nixon was president, the Vietnam War was happening, and America was in the middle of the Space Race with the USSR. These all fit together while my conspiracy in different ways. Richard Nixon supports the moon landing being fake because he was not the most trustworthy president. With the Watergate Scandal, he seemed to always have something to hide. Next, America was in the middle of a war. Faking the moon landing could be an attempt to be proven superior next to other countries. Lasting, the Space Race. America and the USSR had been in a silent war over who was the most technologically advanced. Russia had recently launched the first man made satellite into space. America needed to be proven superior, so they used the moon landing as a way to catch up.
            There are 3 main conspiracies against the moon landing: the man in the helmet, multiple light sources in photographs, and “Why haven’t we returned?” First, let’s start with the man in the helmet. Recently, there has been a new photo that surfaced that appears to show a man in the reflection of an astronaut’s helmet not wearing a spacesuit (The Apollo Hoax). I think this conspiracy theory is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll explain it to you anyways. A man couldn’t survive on the moon without wearing a spacesuit. This picture helps to prove that the moon landing was faked, and most likely filmed in a movie studio. 
Image result for man in the helmet moon landing conspiracy
                        Next, the multiple light sources. In some of the photographs taken by NASA during the “Moon Landing”, there appears to be shadows being cast from two different directions (The Apollo Hoax). However, if they were actually on the moon, there could only be one light source, the sun. Some people have tried to de-bunk this conspiracy by claiming that the sunlight was reflecting off of the lunar module, creating another light source. However, light reflected off another object could not have created such long shadows. If the moon landing was filmed in a studio, they could have used stage lights to make the scene brighter, therefore, creating multiple shadows.
Image result for moon landing different light sources
            Lastly, “Why haven’t we returned?”. Over the past 40 years, there has been my technological improvements that could make another trip to the moon easier. If we could go to the moon in 1969, why haven’t we returned? Technology has advanced so much since then, if we could go to the moon then with the technology we had then, going to the moon now would be so much easier. However, if the moon landing was faked, this theory would make a lot more sense. You can’t go back to a place you never went to in the first place.
            The conspiracy I think explains this the best would be the multiple light sources. The man in the helmet could have been photo shopped or he could have been wearing a suit but the image could have been distorted in the helmet. NASA may have not returned to the moon because we don’t need to. We may have all the information we need or we can just use satellites to receive the information we need. However, there is no explanation for the multiple light sources. There had to have been another light source to create the shadows from the different angles. Studio lights is the most logical answer if the moon landing was faked.
            The three conspiracies that support faking the moon landing are in the reflection of one of the astronaut’s helmets there appears to be a man without a spacesuit, some of the pictures of the moon landing shows shadows from two different angles, and if technology has advanced so much why haven’t we returned to the moon. I believe America faked the moon landing to compete with Russia in the space race and the multiple light sources are the best conspiracy to prove this point. Overall, America’s greatest accomplishment was most likely all a hoax. 

Image result for moon landing pictures







Works Cited
(S) “Apollo Moon Landing -- 35th Anniversary.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, 15 July 2004, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Apollo_35th_Anniversary.html.
(S) “Biographical Data.” NASA, NASA, Aug. 2012, www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html.
(S) Dunbar, Brian. “Who Was Neil Armstrong?” NASA, NASA, 12 May 2015, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-neil-armstrong-k4.html.
(S) Evans, Ben. “Neil Armstrong: The Inspiring Legacy of 'Muffy'.” Neil Armstrong: The Inspiring Legacy of ‘Muffy,’ AmericaSpace, 31 Aug. 2012, www.americaspace.com/2012/08/31/neil-armstrong-the-inspiring-legacy-of-muffy/.
(S) Jones, Eric M. “One Small Step.” NASA, NASA, 1995, www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.step.html.
(S) McDonald, Bob. “Neil Armstrong, Reluctant Hero.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 13 June 2014, www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/technology/quirks-quarks-blog/2012/08/neil-armstrong-reluctant-hero.html.
(S)“Neil Armstrong.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/neil-armstrong-9188943#!
(S) Unredacted, The. “Moon Landing Conspiracy: The Apollo Hoax.” Theunredacted.com, The Unredacted, 3 Dec. 2016, theunredacted.com/moon-landings-the-apollo-hoax/.



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