The Apollo 11 Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong said “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he takes the world’s first steps on the moon (“First Moon Landing Fast Facts”). Or did he? During the 1960s, John F. Kennedy made it America’s goal to become the first to land a man on the Moon. However, many people believe that the moon landing was faked. The evidence that conspiracy theorist use to prove it was faked include the American flag waving in space, suspicious shadows, no starry background, etc. Let’s explore the evidence and unearth the truth behind Neil Armstrong and the moon landing.

Character Analysis

            Neil Armstrong, American hero, was the first man to walk on the moon. Before becoming America’s hero, he completed his studies in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University. Armstrong later joined the military, serving as a pilot in the Korean War, where he was awarded three Air Medals (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Finally, he began working with NASA as an astronaut, making one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind.

Neil was a brave human being because even knowing the odds of success for the moon landing, he still commanded the mission. Armstrong claimed that the Apollo 11 mission had a ninety percent chance of returning to earth, but only a “fifty percent chance of landing on the moon successfully” (Marlow).  During the landing, Armstrong had to take over the Lunar Lander’s auto-pilot and redirect landing on the moon because the original landing location was on a slope a crater. The chances of survival was a coin toss. Armstrong and his crew risked their lives to explore the unknown for science.

            However, even with that achievement under his belt, Armstrong was a private person. He avoided the spotlight for years after landing on the moon in 1969. Compared to his crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, Neil hardly gave any interviews (Marlow). The CPA of Australia released nearly an hour interview with Neil Armstrong (Jha). In this interview, he describes the whole experience of the Apollo 11 mission and his opinion on NASA’s budget cut (Thompson). Armstrong had also given an Oral History Project interview with NASA, discussing his education leading to the Apollo missions to teaching students. In the middle of the interview, Armstrong responded to Dr. Douglas Brinkley’s statement of Armstrong staying out of the public eye by stating, “I recognize that I’m portrayed as staying out of the public eye, but from my perspective it doesn’t seem that way…” The American hero claims he has done many things, but it seems like the public would disagree (Ambrose and Brinkley).

Conspiracy Descriptions

Conspiracy theorists have come up with many interesting theories to explain how the Apollo 11 moon landing was a hoax. These include: the American flag waving, suspicious shadows, no starry background, and clear footprints of the astronauts.

The first conspiracy theory is the waving American flag. After the Apollo 11 mission successfully landed, videos of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, planting the American flag into the soil raised questions to the conspiracy theorists. In the many videos and photos of this historical moment, it appears that the American flag is waving “in a breeze” (“PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted”). The question people began to ask was “how can the American flag wave in space, if there is no wind?” People began to believe that in order for the flag to wave there need to be an atmosphere, creating wind. Scientists agree that there is no atmosphere, so the flag should not be flowing. However, Roger Launius, spaceflight historian of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, explains that the American flag looks like it is flowing in a breeze due to “the flag recently being placed into the moon’s soil, and the inertia from when they let go kept it moving” (“PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted”). Buzz Aldrin has also stated that the flag sent to the moon had a perpendicular rod to keep the flag extended (Treadgold). Both astronauts could not get the flags arm to fully extend, which created the wavy effect (Treadgold). This theory is not valid because of Buzz Aldrin’s first person account.

The second conspiracy theory is the suspicious shadows in the photos of the moon landing. The picture that raises the most red flags is the one showing astronaut Buzz Aldrin getting out of the Lunar Lander. In the photo, you can see that the Lunar Lander’s shadow is covering Aldrin, however he is completely visible (“PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted”). Conspiracy theorists suspect that this had to be produced in a studio because of this weird effect. Experts state that this strange effect is due to their being “multiple light sources, such as, the sun, light reflecting off the Earth, light reflecting off the lunar module, spacesuits, and the lunar surface” (“PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted”). The Mythbusters, Jamie and Adam, believe that it was the moon dust, regolith, creating the effect. Regolith is a powdery mix of materials, reflects sunlight, which allows us to see the moon in the sky (“Are the Apollo Moon Landing Photos Fake?”). They conducted an experiment, replicating the lunar landing, to answer what caused this strange lighting. Jamie and Adam, both concluded that it was indeed the regolith that reflected light causing Buzz Aldrin to be fully illuminated under the Lunar Lander’s shadow (“Are the Apollo Moon Landing Photos Fake?”).  “Dartmouth and UC Berkeley have developed a new software that can detect fake photos, using geometric algorithm to locate inconsistent shadow that are not obvious to the naked eye” (Dartmouth College). These new methods can prove to conspiracy theorist that the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing photos are not fake. Dartmouth have claimed that this method has proven the shadows in the Apollo 11 photos were indeed not faked (Dartmouth College). With all these studies and experiments done proving that the lighting and shadows are not fake, this theory does not prove that the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked.

The third conspiracy theory is that it seems there aren’t any stars in the background of the Lunar Landing photos. Skeptics are claiming that the empty black background is evidence that these photos were produced on Earth. If these photos were truly taken in space, then where are the stars? The answer to that question is that the Moon’s surface reflects the light coming from the Sun, making it hard to see any stars (PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted). This affect is the same for those who live in the city, where there is too much light pollution for stars to be seen. In order to be able to view stars, you need a place that isn’t polluted by light. As for the Moon, it continues to reflect the sunlight, making nearly impossible to see stars from the Moon. Another reason for the starless background is due to the camera equipment the astronauts were using to capture the photos. The astronauts had to use a very fast shutter speed in order to take a well-lit photo on the moon. The high stutter speeds such as, 1/150^th or 1/250^th of a second, limit the amount of light allowed into the camera’s sensor, keeping it from being overexposed and white (PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted). The combination of the reflecting light off the Moon’s surface and fast exposure settings caused the empty backgrounds. This conspiracy theory is weak and doesn’t not prove that the Apollo 11 Moon landing was faked.

The last theory is the too clear of footprints left behind by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Those who believe that the moon landing was faked insist that the astronauts’ footprints too defined for being on the Moon’s surface (PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted). They suspect that the prints were made in wet sand, however experts have explained how these footprints occurred. Scientists claim that it was due to regolith, or moon dust, which is a finely ground powder, on the moon’s surface. When regolith is stepped on, it compresses very easily into the shape of an object (PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths – Busted). Skeptics also began to question why doesn’t the footprint eventually go away. The answer is because the Moon does not have an atmosphere, therefore there is no air to blow the footprint away. We can thank the vacuum on the moon for preserving Man’s first steps on the moon. The footprint theory is not strong enough to prove that the Moon Landing was a hoax.

All four of these theories were debunked by science experts. There are more theories being developed trying to prove that we never landed on the moon. In a survey conducted at Clear Springs High School, amongst students and teachers, ninety percent of those who were surveyed believe that did indeed land on the Moon and it was not faked by the government. There is evidence that the Apollo 11 mission did land on the Moon. Researchers are studying the same area of all the Apollo landing sites for the shadows of the flag. The Lunar Renaissance Orbiter, an orbiter designed to produce maps of the moon, have shown the American flags still standing and casting a shadow (“Apollo Moon Flags Still Standing”). The Apollo 11 mission was the first to bring samples from the Moon back to Earth for research. The astronauts were able to bring back twenty-two kilograms of geological material.  The samples that were brought back contains no water and no evidence of living organisms on the Moon (“Apollo 11 Mission”).

Conclusion

            In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy gave the United States the challenge to put the first man onto the Moon. On July 20, 1969, the United States accomplished his goal, when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. After exploring the conspiracy theories of the Moon Landing being faked:

1.      The waving American flag

2.      Suspicious shadows

3.      The starless background

4.      Clear footprints

Even with all the scientific evidence and technological advancement we have made since then, people still continue to question whether or not the Moon landing was all faked.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Ambrose, Stephen E, and Douglas Brinkley. “NASA JOHNSON SPACE ENTER ORAL HISTORY PROJECT ORAL HISTORY.” NASA Johnson Space Center, 19 Sept. 2001, www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/62281main_armstrong_oralhistory.pdf                     Accessed 25 Oct. 2017

“Apollo 11 Mission.” Apollo 11 Lunar Sample Overview, www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/samples/.

“Apollo Moon Flags Still Standing, Images Show.” BBC News, BBC, 30 July 2012, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-19050795.

“Are the Apollo Moon Landing Photos Fake?” Discovery, 18 Sept. 2014, www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/apollo-moon-landing-pictures-fake/.

 Dartmouth College. "Shadows and light: New software to detect forged photos." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 August 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130805152427.htm>.

 “First Moon Landing Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 July 2017, www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/moon-landing-fast-facts/index.html.