Humans Landed On Moon In 1969, Why Conspiracy Theories Still Doubt It
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by NASA (@nasa)
All About The Apollo 11 Mission
The primary goals of the mission were to land on the Moon, conduct scientific experiments and return safely to Earth. The Moon landing paved the way for future space exploration and inspired generations of scientists, engineers and astronauts.
"56 years ago, NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the Moon, becoming the first humans to walk on the lunar surface," NASA said in the Instagram post.
"Now, we're working with international and commercial partners to return to the Moon and establish the first long-term presence there, which is a critical step toward our first crewed missions to Mars."
What Do Conspiracy Theories Say About The Moon Landing?
The Moon landing conspiracy theory, mostly circulated on social media, suggests that the United States government faked or staged the Apollo Moon landings. Some even claimed that the landings were filmed in a studio or that the astronauts did not actually walk on the Moon's surface.
Users on social media also claimed that the American flag planted on the Moon appears to be waving in the wind, even though there is no atmosphere on the Moon.
Photos taken by the astronauts on the Moon's surface do not show any stars in the background, which some believe is evidence that the photos were taken in a studio.
There are also claims that the astronauts would have been exposed to lethal radiation during their trip to the Moon, making it impossible for them to survive.
The theories argue why it is taking so many years to go back to the Moon with far better technology as compared to the 1960s.
Scientific Proof To Debunk The Viral Theories
Experts have provided evidence and scientific explanations to debunk these claims. Scientists have noted that the flag's motion is caused by the motion from the astronauts as they planted it in the ground, not wind.
They also revealed that cameras used by the astronauts were set to capture images of the bright lunar surface, and the stars were not visible due to overexposure.
In regard to radiation claims, the experts said that the astronauts wore protective suits and the spacecraft had shielding to minimise exposure.
The Apollo astronauts also brought back more than 800 pounds of Moon rocks and soil, which have been extensively studied by scientists and confirmed to have originated from the Moon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Intervention by Indian team helped fix key issue before Axiom-4 launch: ISRO chief
Weeks before it finally took off, the Axiom-4 mission, which carried Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), was nearly cleared for launch despite a perceived minor oxygen leak — until an ISRO team insisted on further checks that revealed a potentially dangerous crack in the rocket, ISRO Chairperson Dr V Narayanan told The Indian Express. The Axiom-4 mission took off for space from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25 after a series of delays since the initial launch date of May 29. The first launch was deferred to June 8 due to an electrical issue in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft — the module where the crew was seated. But on June 8, when the engines were test-fired on ground, an oxygen leak was observed in addition to an anomaly in one of the actuators, used in controlling the direction of the rocket's thrust. Dr Narayanan told The Indian Express that the oxygen leak was deemed minor and unlikely to affect the launch, but the Indian team — 18 scientists including the ISRO chairman and the director of the Human Space Flight Centre — embedded with the Axiom-4 and NASA teams felt something was amiss and pushed for further checks. 'Initially the team thought that there was a minor leak and the mission could proceed as planned. But, the Indian team insisted that proper checks be carried out even if it meant delaying the mission. And it was good that the tests were carried out because a crack was detected, allowing for repair. It was resolved before the mission took off,' Dr Narayanan said. The crack was in the oxidiser line, which carries liquid oxygen to power the rocket — a serious safety risk, especially for a crewed mission. The crack and other issues were fixed, but on June 12 NASA announced it was working with Russian space agency Roscosmos to evaluate a leak in the Zvezda module, the Russian-built service module of the ISS that houses key life-support and docking systems. This further delayed the mission until the final launch two weeks. During the mission, the Indian team was present at both Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral where launch operations took place and at mission control in Houston, Texas, where real-time flight operations are managed — from crew health monitoring and communications to emergency response. Dr Narayanan described the mission as a significant step forward for ISRO's human spaceflight programme, with astronaut training emerging as its single most valuable takeaway. He said Indian scientists got hands-on exposure to how crewed missions are run — from making real-time decisions and interpreting telemetry data to monitoring astronaut health and responding to in-flight contingencies. 'It was like a classroom where we learnt a lot by working with the other teams there,' he said. 'The experience was important for understanding how human space missions are run at an operational level… The training of the astronaut — especially with someone as experienced as the commander — was a big learning experience for the Indian team.' Axiom-4 commander Peggy Whitson, a veteran astronaut, holds the record for the most number of days spent in space by an American or a woman — 695 days across multiple missions. India plans to build a sustained human spaceflight programme, with a space station targeted by 2035 and a human Moon mission by 2040. This will require setting up a permanent astronaut corps and regularly training new astronauts, like NASA and Roscosmos do. In addition to the training, Dr Narayanan said Shukla's experience of living in microgravity, staying in an isolated environment and returning to Earth would be invaluable for India's own programme. ISRO has asked Shukla to document his entire experience in detail. 'This,' Dr Narayanan said, 'would become teaching material for his fellow astronauts as well as the other astronauts to come.' Shukla, who returned to Earth with a splashdown on July 15, is currently undergoing reconditioning in the United States. He is expected to remain in quarantine until the first week of August, after which he will participate in a debriefing with NASA and return home by mid-August.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
From The Hindu, August 4, 1975: NASA invites India to join space shuttle experiment
Ahmedabad, Aug. 3: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited India to propose an experiment that could be placed in the space shuttle, scheduled to become operative in 1980. An Indian scientist can accompany the experiment in the space shuttle also, said Mr. Arnold Frutkin, Assistant Administrator for International Affairs, NASA, in an interview to a local daily here. Mr. Frutkin, who played a leading role in India's Satellite Instructional Television Experiment was here to watch its inauguration on August 1. He said the European countries participating in the research project aboard the shuttle might send a scientist. The space shuttle was the next major project of NASA after the Apollo programme had ended, he added. 'It is less costly ($12 billions) but is expected to be a major milestone in space travel as it will try the concept of reusable booster,' he said. Mr. Frutkin said the cargo bay of the shuttle would be 60 feet long and 15 feet wide. The space shuttle, well past the design stage, would also carry an entire laboratory and change the way 'you do business in space. It will make space travel cheaper,' he added. Mr. Frutkin said the costs were bound to go down if the same booster could be used over and over again.
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
SpaceX Crew Dragon arrives at ISS in just 15 hours after launch
In a successful mission, SpaceX sent four astronauts to the International Space Station on Saturday, completing the journey in just 15 hours. The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying astronauts from the US, Japan, and Russia, lifted off from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre and docked with the ISS while soaring over the South newly arrived astronauts consist of Nasa's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Russia's Oleg Platonov. They will remain on board for at least six months, replacing the astronauts who left in March. Their presence briefly puts the number of ISS crew at reported by the Associated Press, each member of the new crew was initially assigned to different missions. Fincke and Yui were previously in training for Boeing's Starliner missions, but persistent technical issues with the Starliner spacecraft, including thruster malfunctions, have grounded future launches until at least 2026. As a result, both astronauts were reassigned to this SpaceX mission. Zena Cardman was also reassigned from a previous flight to accommodate Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose single-week Starliner test flight became a longer-than-nine-month residency because of continuing technical issues with the Boeing cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, originally set to fly aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, was removed from the lineup a few years ago due to a then-undisclosed illness but has now made his spaceflight debut aboard Crew MEMBERS SHARE REACTIONSA short time after docking, astronaut Mike Fincke welcomed the ISS with a jovial "Hello, space station!" Cardman was amazed by the view during approach, stating, "It was such an unbelievably beautiful sight to see the space station come into our view for the first time."While SpaceX's 15-hour flight was impressively quick by American standards, Russia still holds the record for the fastest trip to the ISS, completing the journey in just three hours aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.- EndsWith inputs from Associated PressMust Watch
