Did we really land on the moon?

There is plenty of evidence that suggests otherwise.
by Nick van der Leek

When I was just a boy, my father said to me: “Son, when you’re my age, you’ll be going for holidays on the moon.” In the late 70’s, it seemed like a sensible and exciting statement, and I didn’t doubt it. But then the 80’s and 90’s rolled by, with just a few shuttle missions, but no more trips to the moon, and now we are approaching over three decades since the last moon landing. With a few million, I might pay my way for a trip into space, but the moon remains out of reach for me, and it seems, everyone else, since the Apollo missions. No one seems to be going there again, if they even went there in the first place.

For starters, how come the Russians never went to the moon? I mean, they put the first man into space, why not go to the moon, even if that meant coming second in the space race. Why just give up?
Why no subsequent trips to the moon since the 70’s, and why build a space station hanging in footless halls of space (to borrow a line from a poem) when we have already stuck flags and parked dune buggies on the lunar surface? Why, because the moon landings never happened. 20% of Americans believe that, and I’m willing to bet money on it too.

When you first begin to study the evidence, photos and possibilities surrounding this subject, it’s hard to believe this wasn’t the greatest hoax of the 20th century.
On July 16th, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off on an 8 day voyage. Their destination was a place no man had been before. But did they really get there? Well, of course they did, it was there for everyone to see on TV. After all, what you see on TV is real, isn’t it?

The movie Capricorn 1 explored this subject a number of years ago. At the time the idea of studio-like hangers in the high desert of Nevada, filled with fine sand and a copy of the lunar module, and astronauts pretending to be on the moon, well, it seemed outlandish. It seemed like an interesting story for a movie, but patently unlikely. What, a whole Space Agency, the government, in on a hoax? How many people would that involve? Surely not.

But once you research this topic, it’s hard to believe otherwise. Here’s why.

After Kennedy’s prediction to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, the pressure was on American scientists, and NASA, to deliver, especially after Russia took the lead in the Space Race.

What probably happened is America realized how high the stakes were, and if they couldn’t make it, they would have to do something phony. With a $40 billion budget, they probably did send astronauts into space, and while orbiting for 8 days, NASA beamed fake pictures, and then the astronauts returned to Earth. It was a ploy that outwitted everyone, but most importantly, the Russians.
Flag Waving

Let’s get the most obvious piece of evidence out of the way first. In video footage (and there’s plenty, even some in color) of astronauts planting an American flag on the moon, the flag twists and swings, and flaps slightly. This is not due just to the momentum of being inserted. There’s an obvious draft coming from somewhere, and in the vacuum of space, there ought to be no wind.

Deadly Radiation

Few people are aware that, beyond about 800km from the Earth’s surface of our planet, the Van Allen Radiation Belts, thousands of kilometers wide, sizzle with solar radiation that is fiercely intense and deadly. This is why every space mission, from Gemini to Skylab, all the Russian missions, all those involving the space station, the shuttles and space walks are all conducted fairly close to the Earth. The only manned missions to ever pass through the Van Allen Radiation belts were, we’re asked to believe, the Apollo Missions.
Scientists say that 6 feet of lead shielding would have been required to protect the astronauts. Guess how thick the lunar module was? Very thin. Aluminum (maybe an inch thick), and even thinner, were the suits the astronauts wore. Now ask yourself this: why do dentists stand behind a thick slab of lead when taking an X-ray, but the astronauts are able to move as they do in conditions many, many times more radioactive?

Here’s some more:

The gold plated limb of the lander is polished. It is clean, shining and reflective, despite having just landed on fine, powdery dust.
There’s no blast crater, and no sign of a spark or exhaust plume when the Apollo detaches and rockets back into space. It looks instead like it’s hoisted very quickly on a cable.
When footage of the astronauts bouncing in the low gravity of the moon is speeded up at twice its usual speed, it looks like they’re running on the Earth.

Photos

Photos taken by astronauts are perfectly proportioned, even though the cameras had no view finders, and were attached to their chests.
Photos have crosshairs stenciled into the lenses, meaning these reference points ought to be in front of all objects. In some photographs, objects (like the flag or the edge of a buggy) obstruct portions of these crosshairs, which, in reality, is not possible.
The lighting in images shows that more than one light source is being used, based on shadows of different angles coming off the men, and rocks in the background, which does suggest the use of a studio.
Objects in shadow are clearly lit (backlit)when they ought to be in total darkness. There are also no pinpricks, no stars in any of the photos.

Armstrong, Grissom and Baron

Why also, do we not see Neil Armstrong at events like the Olympics (handing out medals) or on Oprah? Does anyone remember seeing Armstrong in an interview ever? Shouldn’t he be singing from the rooftops about his experience?
Between 1964 and 1967, 15% of NASA astronauts died in freak accidents. Many of these deaths occurred under unexplained circumstances, and were possibly particular to astronauts who became critical of NASA, such as Gus Grissom. On April 21, 1967, Thomas Ronald Baron appeared on TV to respond to his statements in testimony before congress that the Apollo mission was a mess and America would almost certainly face a failure in their attempts to put a man on the moon. He offered a 500 page report to back up his claims. One week after testifying, Baron and his family died in a car wreck, and the report was never seen again.

There’s more, but if you’re not feeling a bit doubtful at this point, chances are you never will. It’s discouraging that arguably man’s greatest achievement may have never happened, and even more discouraging that mankind may have tricked his fellow human beings into believing himself to be greater, cleverer, than what he really is. In a time where we’re entertained by unending make believe, and where pretenders (actors) make as much news as world leaders, I find this result both troubling and rational.

But here’s a parting thought or two. The Japanese are sending a probe to photograph the surface of the moon. The Chinese have indicated their wish to put a man on the moon, and the Americans have responded by expressing similar notions. If we did land on the moon, there should be evidence lying on the moon. Flags and equipment left behind. A few photos showing a lonely flag or an abandoned buggy shouldn’t be too much to ask for. We ought to know, for sure, in the near future. And it will be fascinating to see to what kind of expense, the kind of strange and new equipment, and the kind of footage the next trips to the moon will turn up. It’s either that or we’ll be going to watch an expensive movie all over again. I’m not holding my breath for Japanese photos of flags though. I am one of a growing minority who believes the 1969 and subsequent landings were faked.

Man landing on the moon was all a charade; the most expensive made-for-TV movie ever. What do you think?