Did the first moon landing take place or was it an elaborate hoax? What evidence is out there?

Answer 1

Although my wife's father performed fuel calculations for the original Apollo landing, I'll spare you that speech. Instead, I will encourage you to watch two programs. The first show is called Conspiracy Moon Landing that it currently showing on the National Geographic Channel and it pretty much obliterates all of the popular conspiracy theories.

I would also encourage you to watch a movie called Capricorn One. Made it 1978, it is a fictional story about a fake mission to Mars. Although it is a science fiction story, it is a good example of how utterly impossible it would be to fake a moon landing for any length of time.

12 men walked on the moon from 1969 to 1972 and we have neither the resources nor the technology to pull off that big of a hoax for so long. Hundreds of thousands of people have worked on the space program. It would be far easier to put someone on the moon than to try and fake it and keep it secret for nearly 40 years.

The landings came at a time when our space program was ultra competitive with the former Soviet Union. Remember how big of a deal it was when Sputnik was put into orbit? They had the technology to monitor our moon shots and transmissions. Don't you think they would have called us out if they had evidence that it was all fake?

Perhaps the most definitive proof of our trip to the moon is what we left behind. For the last 35+ years, scientists have been beaming lasers to the moon and measuring the return times. How are they doing this? The beams are reflected back by equipment left on the moon on at 3 different locations.

Case closed.

Answer 2

1) Twelve 12 American astronauts have walked on the moon.

Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin
Apollo 12: Pete Conrad & Alan Bean
Apollo 13: << failed to land on the moon >>
Apollo 14: Alan Shepard & Edgar (Ed) Mitchell
Apollo 15: David Scott & James Irwin
Apollo 16: John Young & Charles Duke
Apollo 17: Eugene (Gene) Cernan & Harrison Schmidt

2) Why haven't we been back?

The "moon race" was an extension of the cold war. It was mostly about national prestige. We got there first and achieved our primary objective. There was some good science: surveys, measurements, sample collection. But it was mostly about being there first. Once we achieved our primary objective, there was no political will to go back. There still isn't. Perhaps, if we discover He3 or something else valuable, there will be.

3) The U.S. government scammed everyone?

In 1972, there was a politically motivated burglary of a hotel room in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. There were only about six or eight people who knew about it. However, those people, including Richard M. Nixon, the President of the United States, failed to keep that burglary a secret. It exploded into a scandal that drove the President and a number of others from office.

If six or eight people couldn't keep a hotel room burglary a secret, then how could literally thousands of people could have kept their mouths shut about six faked moon landings? Not just one moon landing, but six of them!

4) What about the USSR?

Even if NASA and other government agencies could have faked the six moon landings well enough to fool the general public, they could NOT have fooled the space agency or military intelligence types in the USSR. The Soviets were just dying to beat us. If the landings were faked, the Soviets would have re-engineered their N-1 booster and landed on the moon just to prove what liars Americans are. Why didn't they? Because the landings were real and the Soviets knew it.

5) Why does the flag shake? Where are the stars?

Take a look at the first two websites listed below. They deal well with all of the technical questions.

Answer 3

Yes, it took place; recall that there were multiple moon landings, all of which would have to have been faked. Furthermore, there's no reason to imagine that it's technologically infeasible; all of the technology is easily understood and its development can be traced, and we reaped the benefits in many forms which still are in use (missiles, satellites, etc.). Thus, there's no reason to imagine that it was faked. Conclusive evidence is a mirror left on the surface by Neil Armstrong, which can be used to bounce lasers off and measure the Earth-Moon distance with extreme accuracy. Read about it here:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/21jul_llr.htm

Answer 4

Don't the conspiracy theorists say that the moonshots did in fact take place, but they were UN-manned?

A mirror on the moon doesn't prove it was a man who put it there.

There's a mirror in my bathroom. I don't think NASA did that too.

And isn't there a photo of a moon rock with 'made in China' printed on it?

I'm sure I also saw a photo of the Lunar Module with a small tabby cat curled up and sleeping on one of the Lander's four feet.

And isn't there some footage of one of the astronauts sitting in the Lunar Rover taking his helmet off to scratch the back of his head?

Anyway, if Bush, Blair and their cronies could fake a reason to go to war in Iraq - remember it was because of 'WMD' (of course they didn't find a single ONE) - anything is possible...

Answer 5

I certainly wouldn't put it past the U.S. After all we were in a desperate race with the Soviets to demonstrate our military superiority. However I have two comments. 1) The flag which has been mentioned several times was made with the folds built in to look as if it were waving. 2) The moon has about 1/6 the gravity of the earth so the dust particles kicked up by their shoes as well as all other objects would accelerate when falling at a rate of 1.6 meters per second squared as compared with 9.8 meters per second squared here on earth. I would really like to know how they could simulate that with the crude special effects they had back then. Even the special effects people they have today with their computer graphics admit they would be hard pressed to do it. Simple slow motion wouldn't do it.

Answer 6

I like this question.
As for evidence, I don't have any, however, I am of the belief that it was an elaborate hoax staged by the US Government because they were so scared the Russians would get there before them.

I mean...

There is no atmosphere on the moon, therefore no wind, how on earth could the flag have been waving.
On the same lines, that flag should still be visible today via satelite and I have never seen any pictures of it when pictures of the moon have been shown on TV.. Have you?
Also, you would think the footprints of Niel Armstrong et al. would still be there on the surface, because there is no wind to disturb it...
Spose those pro moon landing would explain that away by the dust created when the shuttle lifted of on its journey back...

Still its a provoking question and everyone is entitled to their own opinion...

Have fun thinking about it..

Answer 7

Yes, it took place. Don't get sucked into all of that hoax stuff. I did and researched it for over a year until I came to the conclusion that we did land on the moon...no hoax.

Answer 8

this question gets asked so many times! all of the conspiracy theorists forget to mention there is evidence here on earth of the landings. one of the apollo missions left a reflective plate on the moon which the observatory at jodrell bank in the uk shines a laser at on a regular basis to get accurate readings of the distance to the moon. they will give you a tour if you ever visit. this would be impossible to fake, seeing as you can see it being done. i think i've only ever seen one program which mentioned this. they are usually to keen to wheel out some crackpot saying the sky is black and has no stars or the shadows are at the wrong angle. no wonder nasa don't comment.

Answer 9

All the rebuttal evidence is out there against the hoax theorists. But they do not want to be confused by facts that contradict their pre-conceived notions.

In other words, they have their heads in deep rectal defilade.

Answer 10

This is one of the more foolish conspiracy theories..
P.T.Barnum said it best..
"There is a sucker born every minute"..
Don't waste your time & credibility with these nonsense theories..
There is so much evidence that no one will even listen to you..
The University of Texas shoots lasers off of reflectors installed
on the moon on one of the missions to get its exact distance..
This is done several times weekly and has been going on ever since it was installed....Decades Ago..