Exploring The Moon Landing
Perhaps the greatest achievement in human history was the day we left the comfort of our home planet and set foot on a celestial object we simply refer to as the ‘moon’.
I recently found myself in a conversation where several individuals were adamant that the moon landing never occurred. In fact, many individuals would argue that the entire moon landing of 1969, was a staged event—a hoax orchestrated by the United States government.
But let’s break this down and really explore the ins and outs of the arguments surrounding the moon landing.
First and foremost, the moon landing transpired in July of 1969, a mere 52 years ago today. That means, there are millions of people alive today that watched a live broadcast from the crew on the moon. Not only that, but we have also been to the moon six times with six United States flags placed on the surface, and left equipment and conducted experiments on each visit. There are reflectors placed on the moon that can be used to reflect a laser to measure the exact distance between the two celestial objects. As it turns out, the moon is drifting away from the earth by the rate of approximately 1.5 inches per year. But if you’re still not convinced—or you believe that we have all been collectively fooled by the government, let’s continue to examine this controversial topic.
Colonel David Scott, verifying a hammer and feather falling in the vacuum of space, 1 August 1971.
For those arguing that footage played back in slow motion can appear as though one is moving in a low gravity setting—the technology did not exist at the time. Magnetic disk recorders, which were used to store slow motion footage, were limited to about half a minute which could only produce 90 seconds of slow-motion footage. The Apollo 11 crew broadcast for approximately 143 minutes from the surface of the moon which was viewed by over 650 million people worldwide.
But if you are on the side that standard film was used and spliced together to achieve the slow-motion effect, that would have required over 13,000 feet of film—not so simple of a feat. Not to mention, it would have been easy to detect the splices in the footage, which was not exhibited.
There have been arguments about the flag blowing in the ‘wind’ and the ‘lighting effects’ in the footage. The flag only moves as its being planted into the lunar surface and after it settles, does not move again. No gentle breezes, no slight movement, just a flag standing still. As far as the lighting effects that do not look natural—that’s because they are on the moon, not earth. There is only a single light source, the sun; however, there were many things on the moon that reflected light, like the lunar module, the moon’s surface, and the astronauts’ spacesuits.
Colonel James Irwin, taken on 1 August 1971 during Apollo 15’s moon landing.
Another popular argument against the moon landing is the lack of stars in the background sky. The challenge with photography/videography, especially on the moon, is that you must decide what you want the subject of your footage to be. In this case, the camera couldn’t capture the stars due to the amount of light being reflected by the moon’s surface and the astronauts’ suits. The subject of the broadcast was the moon’s surface and the astronauts’ interaction on said surface—not to mention the shutter speed required to capture the stars would cause the entire shot to be blown out anyway.
Upon their return to earth, the men that made that faithful journey, Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, and Michael Collins, were forced to remain in isolation for 21 days after the Apollo 11 mission. Due to the unknown particles that could have made its way back to earth with the crew, they were forced to isolate in a capsule which was also televised.
Now let’s discuss the bravery of this mission and just what these men accomplished. The reason the name ‘Michael Collins’ isn’t as famous as the other two is that he had one of the most difficult roles of this endeavor. The reason Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are household names today is because they were the first two individuals to set foot on the moon. Unfortunately for Michael Collins, his role was not as prominent.
Michael Collins remained on the command module that orbited the moon, while Neil and Buzz took the lunar module to the moon’s surface. Michael Collins became the most isolated person in human history, as he orbited the moon—no internet and no communication with Earth nor with his fellow crewmembers while on the far side of the moon; 48 minutes spent without communication and 21 hours in complete solitude aboard the command module. He also missed Neil Armstrong’s famous first words ‘that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’, as he was on the far side of the moon during this illustrious event.
Finally, there is the famous ‘Moon Disaster Speech’, that thankfully was never uttered. William Safire, an author, journalist, and presidential speechwriter for Richard Nixon, was asked to prepare a speech in the event of the unthinkable. He later revealed in an interview that there was a really good chance that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would not be able to return to the command module and would have to be deserted on the moon’s surface. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins agreed to carry-out the mission knowing that there was the possibility of being left behind; Michael Collins would be forced to break communications with them and return to earth, alone.
Below is the speech prepared by William Safire for Richard Nixon, two days prior to mission launch:
“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown. In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood. Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.
For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.”
- Bill Safire
If, after learning of the details of these events still does not sway your perspective of the moon landing, then consider this. Based solely on the few arguments presented here, it would have been easier to simply fly the men to the moon and return them to earth. The work of hundreds of thousands of men and women to accomplish what would be considered the greatest deception in human history would all have been for nothing. Not to mention, the mission as well as the broadcast were witnessed all around the globe—wouldn’t it have been easier to fake if you didn’t broadcast from the moon’s surface with millions of skeptics waiting to rip apart the discrepancies?
And if you still aren’t convinced, then take this final thought into account. You absolutely have the right to believe anything you want, but would you rather believe that the most powerful nation on Earth, the very one that failed to properly enact the Obamacare website in 2013, which failed the day before its launch because it couldn’t handle 500 users, was the same nation that convinced the leaders of the world that they landed men on the moon by doctoring some footage in a Los Angeles film studio, then by all means continue to do so. But, imagine your life’s work, the greatest accomplishment in human history, and a significant chance you would never see your family again—just to have people diminish your efforts and elevate the extent of the government’s ability to plan and carry-out such a cover-up.
The broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969.
