Kaysing, furious after discovering the Pentagon's Vietnamese lies, decided to write something "scandalous"
On July 20, 1969, the lander separated from the Apollo and fell to the surface of the Silver Globe. It was the eleventh "installment" of a long series of missions that ultimately brought man to the moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a memento - a golden olive branch next to which members of subsequent flights placed a memorial plaque, an astronaut statue and a photo of Charlie Duke's family.
Space expeditions took place six more times, of which five were successful (the exception is the unlucky "thirteen", which had to turn back due to a failure). So far, the last man has walked on the surface of a natural earth satellite in December 1972, and with the astronauts flying in the Apollo 17 mission, as much as 110 kilograms of lunar rock returned to Earth.
Out of this world scam?
But is this really true? There have been many who doubt that humans have actually stood on the moon. In their opinion, the footage of the space walk was fabricated and was only part of a complex Cold War plot . After all, at that time the rule of the feuding powers would do anything to outclass the enemy ...
Apollo 11 crew. From left Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin.
What arguments are presented by the unbelievers that the Silver Globe landing was in fact one big hoax to show America's advantage in the technological race with Russia? Among the key pieces of evidence is often that the landing itself was not broadcast in the media, and that NASA's recordings were not released until later. Moreover, as in the book "Chasing the Moon", reported by Robert Stone and Alan Anders:
The broadcast was also not intended to include the moon landing phase. Televisions had to rely on decorations of natural dimensions, animations and reduced vehicle models in this respect, which was complemented by the transmission of astronaut voices .
On 57th West in New York, where CBS's broadcasting center was located, Walter Cronkite ran the program from behind his daisie desk, with an artistic vision of the Milky Way behind his back. The station's largest photo studio, where the usual two afternoon soap operas were filmed, was transformed into a "space headquarters" during the two-day broadcast. .
Interestingly, doubts as to whether or not they flew (and did) did not arise immediately after landing, but only many months later. It all started in 1970, when a book appeared in American bookstores. At that time, pseudoscientific topics such as secret government projects, palaeoastronautics ("science" examining the cosmic past of mankind and our supposed ancestors from other planets), the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, the existence of Yeti and UFOs, and the like were in vogue.
Television viewers and fans of sensational literature were constantly bombarded with new conspiracy theories, which perfectly suited the climate of the Cold War that had been going on for over two decades. Bill Kaysing's publication, meaningfully titled "We Never Went to the Moon:America's Thirty Bilion Dollar Swindle," hit a fertile ground. …
"[Book - ed. Ed.] came about after the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate scandal, and other troubling government secrets were released. Kaysing, furious after discovering the Pentagon's Vietnamese lies, decided to write something "scandalous" hoping it will cause Americans to reject blindly believing the truth of Washington's official statements, ”write Stone and Anders. "Ironically, it was the only rumor the USSR did not spread in the disinformation campaign against the US." Yet the doubts sown by Kaysing have taken root in the minds of people around the world so strongly that they have survived to this day - and they are doing great!
Not debunkable
The list of charges against the "moon hoax" is very long. In addition to those originally put forward by Kaysing, more or less absurd ones appeared in later publications and television programs. They are all to prove that the landing on the Silver Globe never happened. They mainly concern the scenes that the astronauts have captured on film.
You can exchange endlessly. For example, according to conspiracy theorists, men in suits in the recordings move unnaturally - because they are allegedly being lifted on ropes in a movie studio. Moreover, the dust under their feet falls at a different pace than the people themselves, and this, in turn, is a proof of an unsuccessful attempt to imitate a lower force of gravity.
The launch of the Saturn V rocket that brought the Apollo 11 bowl into orbit.
In addition, there are no stars in the moonlit sky, the astronauts jump too low, the shadows fall not as they should, and the rover wheels do not touch the ground ... Considering all this, it is easy to believe that the landing and walks on the surface of the silvery wasteland were filmed on Earth . And not in a very professional way!
There are also "technical" arguments. Well, the more inquisitive viewers noticed, for example, zippers on the backs of space suits. Home-grown lunar weather experts also criticized the flag "fluttering in the wind" and agreed that astronauts could not withstand the radiation dose in the Van Allen belt.
To make matters worse, no one was able to see through the telescope any of the objects left on the moon by the members of the expeditions, and one of the stones on the recording clearly shows the letter "C" - which clearly proves that it is a prop and not a real one rock.
The only question was who prepared the recording and where. The rest - according to the skeptics of lunar missions - is just a formality. Among the "suspects", Stanley Kubrick was mentioned who was supposed to do a project in one of the big Hollywood studios ...
Conspiracy theorists claim that Stanley Kubrick was behind the fabricated lunar landing footage.
Truth be told, circle
It's just that the arguments of conspiracy theorists can be easily refuted, starting from the very alleged participation of Kubrick in the entire undertaking. Every movie fan knows perfectly well that a famous director - perfectionist, asked to shoot the moon landing, would insist that the pictures were taken in the actual location. And due to the fact that he did not like flying very much, making the film would have been impossible ...
But jokes aside. The accusations of doubters have repeatedly been countered by serious specialists and scientists. Film expert Howard Berry, for example, proves that in the 1960s it was simply impossible to organize such a conspiracy because the technology of the time did not allow it ! Proof? Back then, no studio recorded material at a rate of 10 frames per second - and that's what recordings from the Moon are like.
In addition, it was impossible to capture a film long enough to simulate lower gravity when played in slow motion - there were no suitable media for storing the required meters of tape. Of course, the video can be glued together from several fragments, but then there would be a visible trace of such treatment - and even the zealous opponents of the moon landing did not notice it.
The scientific answer to the waving flag and oddly directed lighting arguments is trivial. As for the first issue - the material falls later in the film, so there is no question of wind. What about the alleged "spotlight" in the studio? Physicists admit that it would be a challenge to transport such a powerful light source to the moon , but fortunately for cosmic filmmakers there is still ... the sun. The explanation, then, is that the intense light it was casting was reflecting off the silvery surface, creating optical illusions in some places.
Speaking of the flag, it is not true that it cannot be seen from Earth (because, according to the supporters of the plot, there is no flag on our natural satellite at all). It is possible, only not with a home telescope. Professional astronomical observatories have no problem with that.
The rest of the argument, when confronted with scientific facts, also collapses like a house of cards. Well, radiation in the Van Allen belt was avoided by simply selecting the appropriate flight trajectory. The zippers were actually located where the inquisitive ones noticed them - but they were not what guaranteed the airtightness of the suits:there were also double vacuum zippers underneath (and heavy protective clothing had to be put on somehow).
The stars in the lunar sky are not visible because they were not captured on insufficient-exposure film. And the mysterious letter "C" on the stone? It turns out that you can only see it in one particular shot - because in fact it is ... a hair stuck to the film and then duplicated on copies given to the media.
Crown Argument
But why, despite the successes achieved by Americans in the 1960s and 1970s, did not humans return to the moon after the Apollo mission was completed? Is this not another proof that such an escapade is in fact impossible and the landings were a hoax?
The explanation is much simpler - to the moon there is actually no use for flying . Even NASA admits that winning the race had only a political goal (and it was achieved). The USA proved technological superiority over the USSR. And we will probably stand on the Silver Globe one day, but now the potential travels to Mars are much more important for space agencies. Or even further.
Buzz Aldrin salutes the American flag on the moon.
There is one more point that should ultimately dispel all doubts. When conspiracy theories about the fake of the American moon landing were born, the USSR did not react. Why? After all - if the Soviet authorities had the slightest suspicion that the US could deceive the public opinion, they would most certainly take advantage of it!
However, that did not happen. Apparently, there was simply nothing to dispute. At present, the lack of reaction on the part of the USSR is considered to be one of the best evidence of a lack of a conspiracy. Which does not change the fact that there is still a group of people who firmly hold on to their suspicions. According to a 1999 survey in the USA, 6% of the population still believed that the landings had never happened at the time.
Two years later, FOX television even aired a video in which experts debunked the myths about the fake recordings. Even this, however, did not convince the unbelievers who argued that we should not just believe everything that the media feeds us. Fortunately, as experts say - in the next decades, tourist flights into outer space will become popular, and soon after - also to the moon. I wonder if the doubters will still stick to their point…