10 common misconceptions about going to the moon

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

And a few compelling arguments that will come in handy in disputes with conspiracy theorists.

In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, stuck a striped flag into a natural satellite of the Earth, and took a selfie in front of it. This was followed by five more landings.

But despite the huge number of photographs and videos, many people (for example, as many as 57% of Russians according to the study by VTsIOM) do not believe that a person has stepped on the moon. We have collected 10 of the most common arguments of conspiracy theorists who deny the reality of flights, and prepared arguments that will help dispel their doubts.

1. Americans could not launch Apollo to the moon

The conspiracy theorists' argument: The USA was significantly inferior to the USSR in space technologies. Therefore, all flights of "Apollo" and "Saturn" are impossible.

What actually: at the beginning of the space race, the USSR really overtook the Americans. The first satellite, the first man in space, the first spacewalk, the first lunar rover … But then the gap began to decrease.

In response to our projects, the Americans found Discoverer, the first reconnaissance satellites with reusable film capsules, and Echo 1, the first communications satellite. And also the Lunar Orbiter probe, which captured the surface of the Moon, and the Surveyor lander, which landed on it. There were also manned earth-orbiting flights on the ships Mercury and Gemini.

In addition, before Apollo 11, which made the first landing on the moon, there were also Apollo 7–10, on which they flew around the Earth's satellite. So the Americans set out to conquer the night star prepared enough.

2. No one else flies to the moon

The conspiracy theorists' argument: if the Americans flew to the moon, then why aren't they doing it now? And if earlier they had such advanced technologies, why now they buy our engines?

They do not fly to the moon now for one simple reason: it is very expensive, but at the same time useless. It was because of the high cost that further Apollo flights were canceled. The cost of the program was nearly $ 25 billion in 1969 - that's about $ 175 billion now.

The scientific benefits were small and not worth the huge expense of money and all the associated risks. That is why, when the victory in the "lunar race" over the USSR was achieved and flights ceased to be significant for the prestige of the United States, the Apollo program was curtailed.

As for the alleged degradation of the United States after flights to the Moon and the transition to Russian engines … RD-180 is indeed used in the American Atlas and Antares missiles. But at the same time, the most powerful rocket in the world - the Delta IV Heavy (at least it was the most powerful before the appearance of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy) - flies on its own American engines.

SpaceX and Blue Origin make their engines, Minotaur and Pegasus have exclusively American equipment, their shuttles also flew on engines made in the United States. So it's not all that bad - the Americans have not forgotten how to make rockets.

3. Deadly radiation

The conspiracy theorists' argument: Americans could not cross the Earth's radiation belts, also called the Van Allen belts. The radiation would certainly kill them. Therefore, flights to the moon are a lie and expeditions to other planets are impossible. At least until they invent means of protection against radiation.

What actually: the danger of cosmic radiation is greatly exaggerated. Radiation sickness occurs when a person is exposed to between 200 and 1,000 rad for a few hours. The Earth has two distinct radiation belts. The Apollo 11 crew overcame the first, the most active, in 7 minutes. The second, in which the irradiation is similar to that from an electric ray tube in old televisions, the ship flew by in less than two hours.

Such flights are still not very good for health, but Apollo was quite well insulated. According to NASA measurements, the average radiation dose for a 12-day mission was only 0.18 rad (the maximum allowable is 50 rad). This is comparable to the dose you receive on a chest x-ray.

But to be honest, Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut to fly to the moon on the Apollo 14 mission, died at the age of 75 from leukemia. Apparently, the insidious radiation still finished him off.

4. The flag flies on the moon

The conspiracy theorists' argument: the flag erected by the astronauts flies as if there is air and wind on the moon. But obviously they shouldn't be there! This means that the shooting was carried out on Earth.

What actually: in all the photographs from the moon, the American flag really looks like it flutters in the wind. This is because it is suspended from an L-shaped flagpole. Take a look at these two photos provided by NASA. They show that the astronaut changed the position of the body, but the flag did not change - its folds froze motionless. This behavior of matter is possible only under conditions of weak gravity and the absence of an atmosphere.

NASA AS11-40-5874-75 (full)

If you watch the video of the installation of the flag, you can see how the astronaut shakes it, trying to screw the base of the flagpole into the lunar soil. That is why the flag fluttered a little - not from the wind at all.

And for example, in this video, filmed during the Apollo 16 expedition, you can see how matter behaves under weakened gravity - it froze and does not move.

In total, six flags were installed on the moon, and the shadows from them even managed to be filmed from orbit.

5. No stars are visible in the photographs

The conspiracy theorists' argument: no stars are visible in the pictures from the moon - the sky is absolutely black. This proves that the Apollo landing was filmed in the pavilion. Why didn't NASA staff glue backdrops with painted stars to the pavilion ceiling? Apparently, they did not guess.

What actually: if it comes to that, it is not only in the pictures from the moon that the stars are not visible. If you look, for example, at the photographs of astronauts and cosmonauts taken on the ISS, then there are no stars either. So the ISS is not there either?

The reason is that when shooting in space in the light of the sun, any objects, such as the Earth, the ISS, an astronaut's spacesuit, or the lunar surface, are illuminated many times brighter than the stars in the background. The latter do not appear because the camera cannot collect enough light from them at short exposures.

You can take pictures of the stars only with a long exposure and it is desirable to be on the night side of the moon. For more information on how to take pictures of stars in space, see Tim Peak, British astronaut from the ISS.

At the same time, stars can still be found in images from the moon. An example is the photo below.

The picture was taken by Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charlie Duke on April 21, 1972 using a special camera.

6. There was no one to film the Apollo takeoff from the Moon

The conspiracy theorists' argument: there is a video showing a lander taking off from the moon. If the filming was really there, how could the operator have filmed it? Did he stay on the surface of the Earth's satellite?

What actually: in this video, the last people ever to be on the moon are leaving it. The Apollo 17 lander ascends into the sky to begin its return journey to Earth.

And it is filmed by a camera mounted on a lunar rover (the same little car on which the astronauts of the Apollo 15, 16, 17 missions traveled on the moon). The camera was remotely controlled from Earth by cameraman Ed Fendell in Houston. There was, however, a two-second delay (this is how long the signal goes to the moon), but that did not stop Ed from filming takeoff.

By the way, a fun fact: before leaving the moon, one of the Apollo 17 astronauts, Eugene Cernan - the last person to walk on the surface of the night star - wrote the initials of his daughter, nine-year-old Tracy, in the moon dust.

7. In pictures from the moon, shadows are not positioned correctly

The conspiracy theorists' argument: the landing on the Earth satellite was filmed in a pavilion under spotlights. How else to explain that in the photographs from the Moon the shadows are not parallel? After all, there is one source of light on the moon - the sun!

What actually: the rough surface of the moon, even with one light source, can create uneven shadows. Because the lunar soil - regolith - reflects sunlight well. Also, the shadows are not parallel because of the perspective effect. If these photos were taken in a pavilion under spotlights, objects on them would have several shadows, but this is not observed.

In 2014, NVIDIA, demonstrating the capabilities of its GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 video cards, created a three-dimensional model of the Apollo 11 crew landing on the moon.

And this visualization shows well how sunlight and shadows behave on the moon.

8. Stones on the Moon - props

The conspiracy theorists' argument: on one alleged moonstone, the letter "C" is clearly visible, drawn with a marker or felt-tip pen. This letter was written on the props for filming in the pavilion so that the workers knew where to put which stone.

What actually: yes, there is a photo of the rock taken during the Apollo 16 mission, in which the letter "C" is clearly visible. Wait a minute …

There is nothing so suspicious in the original photograph of the stone. And the mysterious letter appeared when a hair or thread got into the copier while copying a picture. Yes, they flew to the moon in the days when photos were processed by copying machines. A detailed analysis of this picture can be viewed.

9. Returning astronauts move too briskly

The conspiracy theorists' argument: American astronauts are too cheerful. When our cosmonauts, who have returned from the ISS, are taken out of the Soyuz capsule, they can barely walk. And these go down the ladder and cheerfully go to the quarantine center.

What actually: expeditions to the ISS last six months or more. The record belongs to our cosmonaut Gennady Padalka - 878 days in orbit. And the Apollo 11 flight lasted 12 days.

In addition, they were not so cheerful at first. A squad of scuba divers had to take them out of the Apollo capsule. And Armstrong was so weak that he could not close the hatch.

10. Stanley Kubrick confessed everything

The conspiracy theorists' argument: moon flights are fiction. This was admitted by Stanley Kubrick himself, the director who filmed the "Apollo landing" in the Hollywood pavilion. This interview surfaced 15 years after the death of the director - the truth can not be hidden!

What actually: Yes, such an interview really exists on the Web, it has been circulating on the Internet since at least August 2015. Only the video is not Kubrick. You can read this fake on the Snopes.com website.

Video creator T. Patrick Murray claimed to have recorded this exclusive interview in May 1999. Impressive, especially when you consider that Kubrick passed away in March - a couple of months before. In addition, the director's widow told the Gawker website that this video is a fake.

And a couple more arguments

If you are still in doubt about landing on the moon, just know:

• There are lunar soil samples on Earth. For six flights to the moon, Apollo delivered 382 kilograms of lunar soil to Earth. Most of it is stored at the Lunar Samples Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. But samples of lunar soil were also transferred to various scientific organizations in all countries of the world.
• Moon landings can be seen from orbit. LRO (NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) photographed the landing sites of the Apollo expeditions. These images show lander left on the surface and tracks from lunar rovers. You can also view the pictures. And the Japanese spacecraft SELENE also saw the landing site of the astronauts.
• The astronauts left corner reflectors on the moon. The astronauts of the Apollo 11, Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 programs left such things on the surface of the Earth satellite, thanks to which laser ranging of the Moon is performed. Thanks to them, we know the exact distance to it.
• Soviet and Russian cosmonauts confirm the reality of landing on the moon. For example, cosmonauts Alexei Leonov, Georgy Grechko, Gennady Padalka do not question the Apollo flights. Nikolai Kamanin, the head of the training of the first Soviet cosmonauts, also wrote about the reality of this in his own. It is unlikely that the insidious NASA has managed to bribe or intimidate so many people.