Did We Fake the Moon Landing?

2/15/2022

Elise Ward '23

After almost 10 years of a global race to Space, the United States achieved the ultimate victory when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon -- or did they?

Thousands of people today remain convinced that the federal government, with the aid of several other organizations, faked the moon landing in an attempt to end the space race and fulfill former President John F. Kennedys' promise to the country. Theorists argue that through manipulation of photos and film as well as complete media control, NASA and the Kennedy administration successful managed to convince the public that the Apollo missions succeeded.

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Here's the Evidence:

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Theorists believe that with the help of major motion picture companies like Walt Disney Studios, Nasa managed to create seemingly life-like footage of the Earth from the Moon's surface. More scientific evidence shows atmospheric conditions, including solar flares, solar winds, and subsequent Van Allen radiation bells, would have made takeoff incredibly difficult -- almost impossible. Photos of the landings also have discrepancies in the location of the cross hairs (visible marks that indicate the absolute center of the camera framing); this could potentially mean that the objects in question were pasted over previously maintained images of the moon. Finally, several former government officials-- including Bill Kaysings, whose 1976 novel We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle is often cited as the origins of the theory--claim the landing was faked in an attempt to gain support for the Kennedy Administration increasing involvement in the Vietnam War.

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Both high ranking members of the federal government and the scientific community have released proof against every argument the theory presents. Starting with the discrepancy in cross hair placement, professional photographers claim the discrepancies are cause by overexposure and only appear on copied photos, but never original copies. As for atmospheric weather conditions, scientists had accounted for Van Allen Radiation bells and had outfitted the spacecraft with aluminum as a secondary heat precaution.

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What do you think -- did we fake the moon landing or not?