Moon Hoax by Joshua Hebert

On July 20, 1969, the United States of America did the impossible. America reached the moon with mankind on board. They had won the space race and since then America has been known by this great accomplishment. But did they really? This question has been asked since that eventful day and will forever be a great mystery. Did Armstrong and his crew really make it to the moon? The technology was to weak back then or why hasn’t any other country been to the moon. Russia was ahead of us in the space race, and the American spirit was low. How could we make it to the moon before them? Armstrong and his crew did make it to the moon even through all the backlash.

Neil Armstrong, known by his famous words “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (“Neil Armstrong Biography”). Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission (1). When it came to public encounters, Neil Armstrong is seen as a humble hero, a man of few words (Neil Armstrong's Most Courageous Moments As A Pilot). Neil had many traits one of them being courage (1). Also, his intelligence played a big factor in his life (Neil Armstrong: Astronaut and Scientist Who Became the First Man On.)

Neil Armstrong has many courage moments in his life as a pilot (1). Neil performed many high-risk missions in the Korean war (1). He was known for his courageous side, before becoming the first man to walk on the moon (1). On September 3, 1951, at the age of 21 Armstrong was hit by anti-aircraft fire which destroyed his right wing causing him to have to regain control of his aircraft, in the heat of the moment (1). It was after hitting a pole that he regained control, and brought himself back into the friendly territory (1). Once there he had to make the tough decision to eject from his plane (1). He was safely picked up by one of his roommates from flight school (1). Another act of courage was shown on April 20, 1963, when Armstrong overshot the landing at the Edwards Air Force base while testing the X-15, a plane that can get up to six times the speed of sound (1). He cut it very close to some trees and was forced on a lakebed not too far from the base (1). Four days later Armstrong got caught up in another dangerous situation (1). This time he was flying with a man by the name of Chuck Yeager (1). Chuck Yeager had told Armstrong that it was not safe to land at the Smith Dry Ranch Lake because of the rainstorm (1). Armstrong didn’t take his advice and landed there anyway, but his landing gear got caught up in the mud (1). His early moves of courage played a key part in why he was decided to be the commander of the Apollo 11 mission.

Neil’s intelligence was molded at a young age by his mother who was very invested in her children (Neil Armstrong: Astronaut and Scientist Who Became the First Man On.). His mother would spend most of her nights reading and talking with her kids (1). Neil would rather spend time inside reading a book than playing with other children (1). His love for learning and reading grew so much that he was able to skip the second grade because he had a fifth-grade level reading skill (1). He was considered self-sufficient and more of an introvert (1). His intelligence grew to his later years studying science and mathematics, mainly calculus on his own time. There were times when he would serve as a substitute teacher because the teacher was out (1).

 His love for flight started at a young age with just a flight to Cleveland with his family  (Neil Armstrong: Astronaut and Scientist Who Became the First Man On.). His father would bring him on flights because he loved it so much. After that, as a kid, he started by building small model planes (1). When Armstrong was old enough he began working in the nearest aerodrome to gain money for flight lessons (1). He got his pilot's license before he got his driver's license (1). His college education was interrupted in the middle, because of being called to active duty where he worked with different planes and was sent to the Korean war (1).

Neil Armstrong is considered to be one of the most famous men of all time, but with that comes his extremely humble and out of the spotlight mentality (Despite Moonwalk Fame, Neil Armstrong a 'Reluctant American Hero). He had the chance to have money and fame, but he turned it down to maintain out of the light (1). Being the first man to walk on the moon's surface was a huge leap for mankind, but to Neil Armstrong, it was his job (1). he did not make a name for himself in his iconic moment (1). He took the leap for mankind and not for himself (1). He did not do much after his astronaut days (1). He came into the spotlight to defend NASA in 2010 when president Obama administration decided to cancel NASA’s moon-oriented programs (1). Armstrong's decision to speak up in 2010 showed his care for the agency and the future of space travel for mankind (1).

Why didn't Armstrong talk much about space with the public. He never really wanted to speak about it with the public. That kind of makes us think it never happened because anyone who does new things for humanity would come back to tell the public about what it was like, and what it looked like. When Lewis and Clark came back they told everyone and showed everyone the animals and things around that area. Armstrong is an awesome example of a role model. He is a very smart man and is a good example to our youth and society.  He was passionate about his study in flight and continued to stretch the limits. He was courageous and did not let people get in his way of achieving the goals to set man into the future. His is way of life was good he was a humble man, but a little too humble. He did not let the glory get to him or his fame get ahead of himself. He could have all the money he wants or use it as a money making thing instead he choose a normal job after his big day. That shows his true character and proves to me that the man was not about himself at all. Armstrong took a passion for teaching to better the youth so that he can spread his knowledge and understanding to the future. That way we can progress in society and grow closer to achieving even greater things. He could have easily taking used the fame platformed given to him to better himself and his family. He was a family man and showed it through the way he acted instilling the same thing his mother instilled in him into his family. 

The moon landing hoax was the first big conspiracy theory to really take off in America (Svoboda). The belief that we didn’t make it to the moon really took over in 2001 when Fox aired a show called Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon (“Apollo and the Moon-Landing Hoax.”)? It pointed to NASA faking the moon landing in 1969 to beat the Russians in the space race (1). The evidence presented in the documentary included: The American flag rippling on the moon, with no air or wind that is not possible, missing stars in an all pictures, and lack of ability to surpass the Van Allen radiation belts (1).

David Meade, another big name for conspiracy theories, claims that the Van Allen belts are to danger for life (Was the Moon Landing FAKED? David Meade Weighs in on NASA Apollo 11 Hoax Claims.). The Van Allen radiation belt is a field of radiation from two areas that extends from 500 to 58,000km (1). Mr. Meade claims that the Van Allen radiation belt is not safe to go through without large amounts of radiation (1). Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin would have to face these zones while completing their mission (1). NASA did bite back and explain that there was no threat while passing through the Van Allen radiation belt the radiation level was much too small to hurt them (1).

 The astronauts on the mission used a tool called a dosimeter to gauge the levels of radiation while traveling (1). Their meters only read two rads during the course of the six-day mission (1). According to the US Occupation Safety and Health Agency, it shows that 300 rads in one hour is the danger zone for radiation on the human body (1). The astronauts would only experience 13 rads an hour which is considered not dangerous, and way under the level to be worried (1). NASA also explained that the 13 rads per hour would be experienced if the astronauts were outside during the flight through the Van Allen radiation belt (1). Inside the spacecraft, the rads would have no impact on the men (1).

            The rippling of the flag while placing it in the moon is another big topic of discussion when it comes to the moon landing hoax (Apollo and the Moon-Landing Hoax.). Conspiracy theorist use this topic to try and prove the whole moon trip was faked (The Real Story of the Rippling Flag on the Moon, and Other Space Lore.). In the moon landing video that was shown live to the world, the flag appears to be waving, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are planting it into the moon soil as if there was wind present on the moon (1). It was quickly shown that there was an engineering issue a rod which was attached at the top of the flag, but the astronauts had issues bringing it all the way through making it appear to be waving (1).

            No stars in any of the photos given to us from the surface of the moon. NASA took many photos on the moon and videos that were aired live on television, but in those photos and videos, there were no stars at all these things put people on edge (“Apollo and the Moon-Landing Hoax.”). The reason for not being able to see stars in any of the photos is exposure time is needed to capture the image the brighter and closer the object the more it will be seen in the image (“Earth Matters - Where Are the Stars?”). The earth and moon are closer and brighter so they are able to be seen. The object being captured is so much brighter than the stars which create the lack of ability to see them in the shots (1). 

            We did, in fact, go to the moon. It would be a lot harder to fake it and pull it off for 50 years than to just go the moon and back through the technology that was available at the time. The only issue is Neil Armstrong being very quiet and not wanting to do much with the public after his moon landing. The rest of the crew ignored the fame and talking about the trip like they were embarrassed or didn't want to let the secret out. Neil Armstrong decided to take a quiet approach like he was not proud. Now It had to be traumatic on the body and mental state of the astronauts so that would, in fact, prove why they kept so quiet. I use to really believe that the Van Allen belt was too hard to surpass to that made it impossible to go to the moon or outside of our planet. A survey on my study hall class with a total of 27 people showed only 2 of them said we did not go to the moon and the rest said we did. The majority of the people went with the approach of America going to the moon as I watched my peers take this survey most of them laughed and said, of course, we went to the moon. I asked if the class if they had heard about this conspiracy theory and they all seemed to be familiar with it but just did not know much or a reason not to believe in us going the moon.

On July 20, 1969, the United States of America stood above all other countries. They had won the space race and America will always be known by this mighty achievement. Whether we actually did it will forever be a mystery. Conspiracy theorists will always argue differently, while NASA will always play defense. Russia was ahead of us in the space race and the American spirit was in a bad spot. How could America make it to the moon before them? Armstrong and his crew did make it to the moon even through all the backlash.

Work Cited

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Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 6 Sept. 2012, www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/neil-armstrong-astronaut-and-scientist-who-became-the-first-man-on-the-moon-8082241.html.

“Earth Matters - Where Are the Stars?” NASA, NASA, 

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2011/09/28/where-are-the-stars/.

 Hallett, Vicky. “The Real Story of the Rippling Flag on the Moon, and Other Space Lore.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 13 May 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-real-story-of-the-rippling-flag-on-the-moon-and-other-space-lore/2017/05/12/e2f37104-34cd-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html?utm_term=.21a6b089aa4b.

Kettley, Sebastian. “Was the Moon Landing FAKED? David Meade Weighs in on NASA Apollo

11 Hoax Claims.” Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk, 22 May 2018, www.express.co.uk/news/weird/963446/Moon-landing-fake-NASA-hoax-Apollo-11-conspiracy-theory-David-Meade.

“Neil Armstrong Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, Advameg, Inc.,

www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Armstrong-Neil.html.

Spector, Dina. “Neil Armstrong's Most Courageous Moments As A Pilot.” Business Insider,

Business Insider, 25 Aug. 2013, www.businessinsider.com/neil-armstrongs-closest-calls-2013-8.

 Svoboda, Elizabeth. “Why Do People Believe the Moon Landing Hoax or Other Conspiracy

Theories?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 July 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/07/20/why-do-people-believe-the-moon-landing-hoax-or-other-conspiracy-theories/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ad9041c68b90.

Wall, Mike. “Despite Moonwalk Fame, Neil Armstrong a 'Reluctant American Hero'.” Space.com,

Space.com, 26 Aug. 2012, www.space.com/17304-neil-armstrong-moon-fame-modesty.html.