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Was the moon landing a hoax?

By Gaven Mayfield

One small step for mankind is one of the most well-known and iconic statements in American history, but what if the day that brought our country together, and showed the world who held all the power among the other nations across the globe was all a lie? During the 1950s and 60s, two cold war adversaries, The Soviet Union, and the United States were in a power-hungry conflict that might have ended in nuclear fallout (The Cold War 1). This competition began on the side of the armed forces when both sides stocked up on their nuclear arsenal, which continued until 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite (Sputnik and The Space Race 1). This event opened the eyes of the United States and put the ball in their court and brought the power-hungry feud from soil to space. Twelve years later, the country watched in disbelief as Neil Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon. After this day, the conspiracy world was flipped upside down and many conspiracies must be investigated.

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Conspiracy #1

The first conspiracy theory broke out after all the pictures of the moon landing were released to the public. The world was shocked to see how it looked outside of their world and to the average person, everything seemed normal. However, to the highly technical space geeks, they weren't about to be fooled by some government action shots of the moon. In one picture, we see astronaut Buzz Aldrin carrying equipment as he is walking on the moon, but in the background, there are no stars ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked" 1). After theorist dove deeper into this theory, they found that the reason there were no stars in this picture was that stars appear very faint on the moon since astronaut's space suits are very bright, so the 1960s camera gets overexposed to the bright white suit which leads to the image showing no stars ("Why Can't We See Stars in the Pictures of Spacewalking or Moonwalking Astronauts?" 1). Another image that was questionable by the public was another photo of astronaut Buzz Aldrin this time saluting the American Flag; however, this time the flag itself seemed to be caught in a gust of wind, but there is no wind on the moon ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked" 1). Soon after this conspiracy hit the headlines, NASA had a very quick answer to this. Before taking off, NASA installed a telescopic pole to extend along the top to make the flag appear that it was flying proudly ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked" 1). The pole and the fact that it had been wrinkled up for four days en route to the moon is more than enough proof to easily debunk this theory.

Conspiracy #2

The second conspiracy theory is how did the astronauts survive the radiation field? This theory is one of the more convincing ones and it has a large part to do with the Van Allen belts, which are two large donut-shaped belts that surround the earth most believe you cannot pass these belts without getting fried ("How Do We Know That We Went to the Moon?" 1). These belts were of course a huge concern to NASA and the astronauts flying the mission, but there was a way to safely pass without damaging the spacecraft or the astronauts inside. There were many measures put into place such as an aluminum shield placed around the entire spacecraft and NASA engineers had to come up with a place where the rocket could be launched and spend the least amount of time in the belt (1). NASA engineers called this part of the event 'Firewalking' ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked" 1). They stated that "If you've ever walked on fire, the one thing you do not linger around the middle. You cross as quickly as you can and similarly, the journey across the Van Allen belt was very short, so going through it will not be a problem if we do it fast" ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked 1"). During the voyage itself, engineers were correct in what and how they shielded the spacecraft. The astronauts were exposed to .46 RAD, which is ten times more exposure than doctors who work with radiotherapy and x-ray machines. ("How Do We Know That We Went to the Moon?" 1).

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Conspiracy #3

The third conspiracy is still trying to be answered to this day even with our constant growth in technology. Why have we never gone back to the moon even though technology has gotten better ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked 1")? The last Apollo mission was in 1972. Theorists believed that NASA couldn't cover up their tracks anymore which is the reason for their halt in space exploration. Instead, NASA became more ambitious and started the talk of establishing a lunar base on mars. Attention turned more to the space shuttle program and the international space system which allows humans to explore space even deeper and has been inhabited by astronauts since 2000. As the world moved on from this early phenomenon of a man in space, putting astronauts on the moon just seemed less important "The race was over" ("Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked" 1). Money was another factor because, quite frankly, the amount of money spent on putting people on the moon is astronomical.

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Character Analysis

Neil Armstrong is an example when talking about staying humble and dedicated even though you know you are the best. Armstrong was a man of resiliency and could push himself to limits no other person had done both figuratively and literally. To the average person, Neil was always low and off the record, he stayed to himself and minded his own business, "Neil had always been a private man, he always downplayed his accomplishments and eschewed the limelight (Allison). After Neil Armstrong passed his prime and entered his toned-down lifestyle, he was a professor at the University of Cincinnati. At that point in his life, he was even more private, Armstrong had an "Unassuming attitude about public life; Neil kept public sightings/shenanigans to a minimum and recoiled from the profitable business of signing astronaut autographs."(Carney) Although most describe him as quiet and secret, that does not take away the millions he inspired and how kind Neil Armstrong was to all his fans "Sharing his life experiences with young people and inspiring them to succeed in life. The generosity of spirit is perhaps the greatest of all heroic traits. Overall, Neil Armstrong was one of the most influential humans in history, and while he holds this title he always remained quiet and humble, which made him an even better person than he already was. Becoming the first person to step foot on the moon takes years of dedication and passion, which was exactly what Neil Armstrong was made of. Neil spent years of his life devoted to learning all about the world beyond our own and how we could get out and explore it one day; "Neil was so passionate about space exploration; he was a dedicated aerospace engineer" (Allison). Armstrong had been very passionate about the science of aerospace and flying for a long time. For example, "Armstrong could fly planes before getting his driver's license" (Stamper). He later pursued his major in Aeronautical engineering at Purdue University. After his NASA career, Armstrong still carried his heavy passion for Aero engineering, which led him to become a professor at the University of Cincinnati. Neil had always been dedicated to his pilotage. From flying a fighter in the Korean War to becoming a test pilot for NASA, he always took pride in his occupation, which was one of his most recognized traits. Neil Armstrong was so dedicated to becoming the first man to land on the moon that he would die for it, "He narrowly escaped death in 1968" (Stamper 1). After escaping a nasty accident that involved one of the thrusters on the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle that ran out of fuel, Armstrong was forced to eject but recovered unharmed. Neil Armstrong's Dedication and passion led him to a truly one-of-a-kind life, and the work he put in was matched by none. This level of pride set an example for anyone who wanted to follow in his footsteps, Armstrong was truly one of a kind.

After examining the events that supposedly took place during the moon landing, several conspiracy theories remain, and the answers seem to be lost in space.

  1. Did astronauts land on the moon?

  2. How did the astronauts survive the radiation field?

  3. Why have we never gone back even though technology has gotten better?

A few months after the 53rd anniversary of this global phenomenon, some still question if this event was even possible and if it happened. Although the evidence at every point during the moon landing proves that it happened, we will truly never get an answer, so it is up to us individually to choose what we believe in which makes this conspiracy event one of the greatest of all time.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Allison, Scott, and RJDiogenes says: “Three Reasons Why Neil Armstrong Captivated Our Heroic Imagination.” Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them, 10 July 2019, https://blog.richmond.edu/heroes/2019/07/10/three-reasons-why-neil-armstrong-captivated-our-heroic-imagination/#:~:text=Neil%20Armstrong%20is%20also%20a,a%20brilliant%2C%20dedicated%20aeronautical%20engineer.

Carney, Emily, and Name *. “Neil Armstrong: The Courage of Restraint - National Space Society.” National Space Society - Working to Create a Spacefaring Civilization, 31 Jan. 2019, https://space.nss.org/neil-armstrong-the-courage-of-restraint/.

How Do We Know That We Went to the Moon? | Institute of Physics. https://www.iop.org/explore-physics/moon/how-do-we-know-we-went-to-the-moon.

“Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked.” Royal Museums Greenwich, https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-debunked.

“Sputnik and the Space Race: 1957 and beyond: Introduction.” Research Guides, https://guides.loc.gov/sputnik-and-the-space-race.

Stamper, Peta. “10 Facts about Neil Armstrong.” History Hit, History Hit, 31 Mar. 2022, https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-neil-armstrong/.

“The Cold War.” Ducksters, https://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/space_race.php.

“Why Can't We See Stars in the Pictures of Spacewalking or Moonwalking Astronauts?” StarDate, https://stardate.org/astro-guide/faqs/why-cant-we-see-stars-pictures-spacewalking-or-moonwalking-astronauts.

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