There are many conspiracy theories about this event. What are conspiracy theories? How are they usually circulated nowadays?

Read the introduction to the world’s most popular conspiracy theory. Which events are mentioned?

Everybody loves a good conspiracy theory. Whether it is the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) shooting President Kennedy, or Elvis being alive and well and living on the Moon, there are few things that appeal to the imagination more than a mixture of mystery and a hint of evil-doing in high places. When horrifying, historic events shake our world we seek to make sense of them by creating bizarre theories. These theories, however unlikely, are preferable to the cold fact that sometimes accidents happen. Many of the juiciest theories circulate on the Internet.

One of the latest conspiracy theories is the Apollo Moon landing. What do you know about the Apollo Moon landings? Discuss in groups and share information.

Read the introduction, were you right?

The Apollo Moon Landing

For over 30 years rumours have been circulating that the Apollo Moon landing were faked. They say astronaut Neil Armstrong made no “giant leap” for mankind. They assert that the 1969 Moon mission was a hoax to prove America won the space race. The high point in the great Moon Landing Conspiracy came on 15 February 2001, the date that the Fox television network broadcast a programme entitled Did We Land on the Moon? This alleged that the whole Moon landing had been staged inside a film studio on a US military base somewhere in the Mojave desert.

Before you read

Read these sentences and decide what the words in bold mean.

1. The distant stars are toofaint to be seen.

2. Why does the US flag planted appear to be fluttering?

3. The flag had a poleinserted across the top.

4. All equipment and astronauts were in pretty hi-tech gear themselves.

5. The footprintsmade in the dust on the moon would require moisture to make - try it with sand.

6. Thedensity is low.

7. The thrust from the rockets is dispersed in a vacuum.

8. How come there’s footage of the astronauts leaving the moon?

The Apollo hoax theories

Doubts still linger about the moon landing. 9/11 and Kennedy aside, no event in world history has generated quite so many conspiracy theories than the Apollo moon landings. Do they stand up? Here are the best reasons why it couldn’t have happened and the rebuttals. Of course, you may disagree.

Where are the stars?

The pictures taken from the surface of the moon show a black sky, but space is full of stars. Where are they?

Here stars are there, they are just too faint. The lunar landscape is lit by the sun and you are taking pictures of a man in a white spacesuit. So, you set a fast aperture speed on your camera, and hence the distant stars are too faint to be seen.

The fluttering flag

Why does the US flag planted appear to be fluttering in a breeze when the astronauts are in a vacuum?

The flag had a pole inserted across the top so that it would look right in the photograph. The astronauts didn’t extend the pole fully and the flag was left with a crease in it.

The Van Allen Belt

Why weren’t the astronauts killed by the radiation from the magnetic fields around the earth?

The radiation in the Van Allen belts is strong enough to kill, only if you linger. The astronauts were through in around an hour - about the same level of radiation as an x-ray.

It’s too hot.

The moon’s surface temperature reaches up to 280 Fahrenheit. Nothing works at that temperature-the film used would have melted, for example.

The film was in protective canister, for example, and all equipment and astronauts were in pretty hi-tech gear themselves. And they landed at lunar dawn too, so the temperatures were significantly lower.

Footprints require moisture

The footprints made in the dust on the moon would require moisture to make - try it with sand.

Well, you could also try it with talcum powder, which doesn’t require moisture to retain a footprint and bears much resemblance to the fine grain of moon dust.

They would have been killed by meteors on the way.

Space is filled with fast, tiny meteors that would have punched through the spacecraft and killed the mission and astronauts.

There are millions of meteors travelling around 120 000kmph. But space is a big place, so the density is low and the chances of passing through unmolested are very high.

Where is the blast crater?

When the lunar module landed, there would have been a crater.

Most people slow down to park the car - so did the landing module. It landed rather gently and the thrust from the rockets is dispersed in a vacuum, and doesn’t force air downwards as on earth.

The cameraman watched them leave.