Moon Landing was Real: A Commentary

The Eagle Landed

There shouldn’t be any questions about the moon landing’s authenticity. When the “Eagle” landed on the surface of the moon in July, 1969, the world was watching. While being one of the most significant moments in history (some will call it the greatest), it also became one the most documented events up to that point. Live TV coverage and audio recording captured the very moment the first two men took a giant leap for mankind on a distant world.

On top of that, other moon missions were made. In some cases, material from the moon was collected and brought back to Earth, thus adding more evidence to support this momentous moment.

Still, some people are apparently not convinced. In recent years, conspiracy groups have taken to the airwaves (ironically, some of the same form of media that verified the landing) to spout off on their arguments that the moon landing was a hoax created by the government.

What is the Moon Landing Hoax Conspiracy?

The Moon Landing Hoax Conspiracy, as it has come to be known as, states that the whole moon landing event was actually created on a sound stage and produced by the government to cover up its actual failure.

Over the years, it metastasized into something else: While there were doubters in the beginning, in 1976 a movie, Capricorn 1, played up on the premise that a failed mission to Mars was filmed in a stage and that anyone associated with it was sworn to secrecy and/or killed by the government. While this was fictional, the idea that the government could’ve faked the moon sparked the imagination of doubters.

Over the years there have been other reasons (by doubters) given for not believing in the moon landing. They include:

• It was meant to cover up contact with aliens.
• There’s an alien civilization on the moon.
• The government wanted to cover up that the world was flat
• They wanted to hide the fact of its “failure” from the Soviets that were involved in a space race at the time.

In truth, the reasons vary. And trying to list them feels like going down a rabbit hole. Especially when it involves groups such as flat-earthers, UFOlogists, and even MAGA groups.

A Hoax About a Supposed Hoax

Whatever the reasons may be, the hoax is a classic conspiracy theory. It is made up of flimsy evidence, bizarre and unsubstantiated claims, and rabid believers who will stop at nothing to persuade the public. In this case, some have even taken it as far as confronting and chastising the astronauts who were part of the Apollo Space program (of course, one believer learned the hard way that this is not a good tactic, especially when confronting astronaut Buzz Aldrin).

Those believing in the moon-landing hoax often point to such evidence as a camera on the moon panning up to capture the lunar landing capsule launching into space or the American Flag seemingly flapping in the vacuum of space.

The camera is easily explained. It was remote controlled and didn't require anyone standing behind it to do the operations. The “flapping flag” can be explained, as well. Astronomer and writer Phil Plait wrote that the flag was mounted on one side of the pole and had another pole running horizontally on top of it.

“In a vacuum or not, when you whip around the vertical pole, the flag will ‘wave’,” he wrote, “Since it is attached at the top. The top will move first, and then the cloth will follow along in a wave that moves down. This isn’t air that is moving the flag, it’s the cloth itself.” (Carroll, 2012).

In other words, the flag only moved when it was being planted. The film shows that the flag didn’t move afterward unless one of the astronauts touched it.

The Studio Concept

Many believers claim that the moon landing was filmed in a studio. In this case, no credible evidence has ever been found to support this claim. Also, if this was true, it would have been a huge production involving thousands of people from the military, scientists, engineers, and astronauts. Also, such a hoax would include an additional group of spectators watching the launch in Florida.

Evidence for the studio concept is weak. Many sources claimed that it would have been next to impossible to pull this off. Additionally, it would’ve been too expensive to do.

Flights Before Apollo 11

Something that gets lost in the conspiracy was that there were other flights to the moon. NASA launched several missions there. The Apollo Mission, starting - in 1965 and officially ending in 1975 - would eventually place twelve people on the moon. There were additional missions in which the capsule carrying the astronauts orbited the moon; some before the Apollo 11 mission, which resulted in the first landing on the moon. The last moon landing was in 1972.

As mentioned, samples were taken from the moon and returned to the earth. Also, the capsules that brought the astronauts’ home still exist. Finally, there’s the countless photos, film footage, and audio recordings of the event.

Finally, in 2009, landing sites on the moon were photographed from space by satellites such as NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This is possibly one of the best pieces of evidence supporting the missions’ authenticity.

The Apollo Moon Landing is one of the most monumental achievements in human history. It’s something people can take pride in knowing they’ve overcome major boundaries to take the first steps toward reaching the stars. Fortunately, conspiracy theorists will never be able to dilute this accomplishment that made it possible.

Work Cited

1. Robert Todd Carroll: "Apollo Moon landing hoax" : The Skeptic Dictionary (2012)
2. Guardian Staff: "Top 10 Apollo hoax claims": The Guardian (July, 2009)
3. Phillip Pliat: "Bad astronomy : misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing "hoax": adis:scix (Harvard U.): retrieved 2012)
4. Yahoo Search: "Image of Moon Landing" : Yahoo.com (retrieved 2012)
5. NASA SVS: "Revisiting Apollo Landing Sites"; NASA (2019)