Did we really walk on the Moon?

Question

I just read an article that brought up some really good points:

The flags planted by the astronauts appear to be wave in the wind when the moon is supposed to have no atmosphere.

In some photos, shadows point in different directions as if there were more than one light source.

The astronauts seemed to be unable to jump more than a half foot even though gravity on the moon is only one-sixth that of earth's.

There is no fog on the film from the immense temperature variation from the warm landing module to the freezing or sizzling hot temperatures on the surface on the moon, no discoloration from passing through radiation belts.

No stars seen in the pitch black sky lunar sky, stars that should have appeared brighter than anywhere on earth.

I often wondered how back in a time when computer technology wasn't even invented, we so easily walked on the moon. Now with all our technology we have never attempted to do this again.

Did we really walk on the Moon?

This is a simple question based on an article I read. Aviophage implies many people are telling me this. Please read before you respond. I said I read an article on it. I was just wondering what opinions people have on it, I didn't write the book. Also, I wasn't born when it came on TV to watch it. And why is everyone so defensive and closed minded? I didn't say I believed it or disbelieve so calm down people!

Answer 1

Cassy,

If the people who are answering you seem overly excitable, it is because this is probably 138th posting of this exact same question with those exact same points.

No one is being closed minded, they are just frustrated that some idiot is out there stirring up fake conspiracies most likely to make money. I would not be surprised to find out that the website gets paid by advertisers for every hit it gets, and some of the people posting this question repeatedly on Yahoo Answers may be doing it just to get people to visit that website.

How is that for a conspiracy?

Answer 2

Yes, we did land on the Moon. That article is by people who don't know what they are talking about.

The flag waves because it has an extra horizontal stick at the top of the pole to hold it out and because the astronauts were shaking it as they planted it.

The uneven surface makes the shadows go in different directions. Two light sources would have made all objects have double shadows.

The space suits and backpacks are very heavy, 185 pounds on Earth, and stiff too, so the astronauts mobility was severely impaired.

The film and cameras were specially modified to take the extreme environment in space. In spite of that, some were fogged. They just don't show those, just like you don't show your bad vacation pictures.

There are no stars in night time photographs on Earth either. When was the last time you saw a news report with a camera crew at a location of a fire or police operation or whatever, at night, that showed stars in the sky? Stars are just to dim to photograph with normal exposure times.

We had computers in 1969. They were not as good as they are now, but we had them.

The reason we went to the Moon was to beat the Soviets there. That job is done so we don't care enough any more to spend the billions needed to go again.

Read the source below for complete details on the Moon walks.

Answer 3

I don't know the answer to that, but there are very good reasons for all of the things you mentioned.

The flags planted on the moon were held up by wire and even small vibrations applied to them or in the dirt around them could cause them to move slightly.

The lunar landing module had lights on the outside of it. Each astronaut and each camera also had lights which could account for the variations in the shadows. Also the reflection of sunlight off the light-colored moon dust could cause shadows.

The astronauts were not jumping, the were just walking. In the few instances when they did jump, they were able to jump much farther than they could on Earth.

Condensation (fog) does not form on an aircraft when it goes from a warm environment to a cold environment. It only forms going from a cold environment to a warm, moist environment. I should know, I am a Learjet pilot and we often get condensation on the windows going from up high where it is cold to down low where it is much warmer.

With the poor resolution quality of the cameras in 1969, it is understandable why we cannot see any stars in the background, especially when being filmed from a lighted area with slow shutter speed.

You do not need high tech computers to fly, not even to the moon. In the 1950's and 1960's, many aircraft were invented that flew higher and faster than anything we have invented since then.
In the 1960's, the North American X-15 reached Mach 6.85 and a maximum altitude of 266,000 feet. Those records weren't broken by a human-controlled aircraft except the Space Shuttle until Space Ship One in 2004 broke the altitude record. They did not have high-tech computers in those aircraft, and we still have not developed a better technology.

I do not know what the truth is, but all of these things are easily explainable. There are many television producers and conspiracy theorists out there who create lies to spread their propaganda to make money.

Answer 4

For the 1800th time, yes, American astronauts walked on the moon.

1) The flags were of course rigged up with stiff wire to make them stand out. Otherwise they would have hung limp and not have looked very good. Okay? Anyone who watched the news in 1969 knew about that.

2) There is more than one light source on the moon. The earth reflects a lot of the sun's light. So you see shadows from sunlight and from earthlight. Okay? Anyone who watched the news knew that.

3) Actually there is footage of astronauts jumping 15 feet high during the later moon landing expeditions. They did not do it on a regular basis because of the risk of landing hard, falling over, breaking a seal, and other dangers. But they could do it and they did do it. Okay? The person that wrote the article you read did not pay very much attention, did he/she?

4) They actually knew how to make cameras in 1969, okay? The camera was very sophisticated and was sealed in a way that a terrestial camera is not, so there would not have been any moisture to create "fog." Okay? All of these are very well-known facts.

5) Please go out to a brightly lighted area at night, like a sports stadium, and take a few pictures with an ordinary camera. You will find that the sky appears uniformly black, with no stars. That's because when you have the exposure set for the brightly lighted foreground, the stars are not bright enough, in relative terms, to appear on the film. Simple stuff, known to any serious photographer.

6) Please get your history straight. This is the worst mistake in assumptions. Computer technology was highly sophisticated in 1969. Computers were large by comparison. There were no laptops or palm pilots. But there were very powerful and sophisticated computers in terms of the historical development of technology. The moon flights relied heavily on computers, both on board and at mission control. Information about this is readily available on the internet. Google or Yahoo on "IBM 360."

We have not returned to the moon because there is little economic justification. At the time, the main reason for the Apollo missions was for us to win a pecker-measuring contest with the Russians. We won, and there was really no more reason for going to the moon.

Yes, we really walked on the moon. Why would so many people lie to you about it? What is to be gained from thinking that we didn't actually go? Of course it's true.

And the points raised by the article you read are not really very good points, now, are they? In fact, the author sucks stupid juice, and there is no need for you to even think about it any more, okay?

Answer 5

I don't believe for one minute that we walked on the moon-we would have colonized the moon by now for one reason or another maybe send prisoners who cannot be allowed back into society like Charles Manson or maybe people with super infectious diseases,we would have found a lot of things to do with all that space,maybe a get away for the 'Super Rich'.

Answer 6

Average age of the engineers at Nasa in the 60's was 28.
Most ended up divorced as they worked continuously around the clock to get us to the moon.
This I know from a someone I met who worked for Nasa from the Gemini program through Apollo up until Challenger disaster..

Answer 7

Yes, we really walked on the moon.

You need to be more skeptical about these kinds of conspiracy theories. There are many:

1. The {pick one - vice president, CIA, Mafia, Cubans, etc.} killed Kennedy.
2. The holocaust never really happened.
3. The US government was responsible for the World Trade Center towers collapsing.
4. The US government is hiding captured alien bodies, evidence of alien UFO's, etc.
5. A small group of {pick your least favorite minority} actually controls the world.

Answer 8

The more I look into it the more I think we didn't. Another thing I find really odd is that most of the people at mission control at the time were only in their early twenties. You'd think for something so important they'd have the most experienced people there, not a bunch of kids.

I think the Japanese are sending a probe to the moon sometime soon. So we might find out for sure.

Answer 9

Yes, we walked on the moon..
The earth is not flat..
The US Govt. had nothing to do with the 9/11 Twin Towers attack.
The govt. is not hiding any aliens or flying saucers..
To quote P.T.Barnum...
"There is a sucker born every minute"...

Answer 10

Yes, 12 men did walk on the moon. 6 missions, 2 men on each.

The web page I've added a link for is worth reading - straightforward, common sense answers to all those questions.