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MISCELLANEOUS

10 Reasons the Moon Landings Could


Be a Hoax
JOSH FOX DECEMBER 28, 2012

The theory that the moon landings were hoaxed by the US government to assert their
victory in the space race over Russia, is something which has grown in popularity over time.

Recent polls indicate that approximately 20% of Americans believe that the U.S. has never
landed on the moon. After the Apollo missions ended in the seventies, why haven’t we ever
been back? Only during the term of Richard Nixon did humanity ever land on the moon, and
after Watergate most people wouldn’t put it past Tricky Dick to fake them to put America in
good standing in the Cold War.

In this list I have presented some of the proposed evidence to suggest that the moon
landings were hoaxes. I tried to include NASA’s explanations to each entry to provide an
objective perspective.

The Waving Flag


10
Conspiracy theorists have pointed out that when the first moon landing was shown on live
television, viewers could clearly see the American flag waving and fluttering as Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted it. Photos of the landing also seem to show rippling in a
breeze, such as the image above which clearly shows a fold in the flag. The obvious
problem here is that there’s no air in the moon’s atmosphere, and therefore no wind to
cause the flag to blow.

Countless explanations have been put forward to disprove this phenomenon as anything
unusual: NASA claimed that the flag was stored in a thin tube and the rippled effect was
caused by it being unfurled before being planted. Other explanations involve the ripples
caused by the reaction force of the astronauts touching the aluminum pole, which is shown
to shake in the video footage.
Lack of Impact Crater
9

The claim goes as follows: had NASA really landed us on the moon, there would be a blast
crater underneath the lunar module to mark its landing. On any video footage or
photograph of the landings, no crater is visible, almost as though the module was simply
placed there. The surface of the moon is covered in fine lunar dust, and even this doesn’t
seem to have been displaced in photographic evidence.

Much like the waving flag theory, however, the lack of an impact crater has a slew of
potential explanations. NASA maintains that the module required significantly less thrust
in the low-gravity conditions than it would have done on Earth. The surface of the moon
itself is solid rock, so a blast crater probably wouldn’t be feasible anyway – in the same way
that an aeroplane doesn’t leave a crater when it touches down on a concrete airstrip.

Multiple Light Sources


8
Moonlightingdiscrepancy1
On the moon there is only one strong light source: the Sun. So it’s fair to suggest that all
shadows should run parallel to one another. But this was not the case during the moon
landing: videos and photographs clearly show that shadows fall in different directions.
Conspiracy theorists suggest that this must mean multiple light sources are present -
suggesting that the landing photos were taken on a film set.

NASA has attempted to blame uneven landscape on the strange shadows, with subtle
bumps and hills on the moon’s surface causing the discrepancies. This explanation has
been tossed out the window by some theorists; how could hills cause such large angular
differences? In the image above the lunar module’s shadow clearly contradicts that of the
rocks in the foreground at almost a 45 degree angle.

The Van Allen Radiation Belt


7

In order to reach the moon, astronauts had to pass through what is known as the Van Allen
radiation belt. The belt is held in place by Earth’s magnetic field and stays perpetually in the
same place. The Apollo missions to the moon marked the first ever attempts to transport
living humans through the belt. Conspiracy theorists contend that the sheer levels of
radiation would have cooked the astronauts en route to the moon, despite the layers of
aluminum coating the interior and exterior of the spaceship.

NASA have countered this argument by emphasizing the short amount of time it took the
astronauts to traverse the belt – meaning they received only very small doses of radiation.

The Unexplained Object


6
After photographs of the moon landings were released, theorists were quick to notice a
mysterious object (shown above) in the reflection of an astronaut’s helmet from the Apollo
12 mission. The object appears to be hanging from a rope or wire and has no reason to be
there at all, leading some to suggest it is an overhead spotlight typically found in film
studios.

The resemblance is questionable, given the poor quality of the photograph, but the mystery
remains as to why something is being suspended in mid-air (or rather lack of air) on the
moon. The lunar module in other photos appears to have no extension from it that
matches the photo, so the object still remains totally unexplained.
Slow-Motion Walking and Hidden Cables
5

In order to support claims that the moon landings were shot in a studio, conspiracy
theorists had to account for the apparent low-gravity conditions, which must have been
mimicked by NASA. It has been suggested that if you take the moon landing footage and
increase the speed of the film x2.5, the astronauts appear to be moving in Earth’s gravity.
As for the astronaut’s impressive jump height, which would be impossible to perform in
Earth’s gravity, hidden cables and wires have been suggested as giving the astronauts
some extra height. In some screenshots outlines of alleged hidden cables can be seen (the
photograph above supposedly shows a wire, though it is extremely vague).

Lack of Stars
4

One compelling argument for the moon landing hoax is the total lack of stars in any of the
photographic/video evidence. There are no clouds on the moon, so stars are perpetually
visible and significantly brighter than what we see through the filter of Earth’s atmosphere.

The argument here is that NASA would have found it impossible to map out the exact
locations of all stars for the hoax without being rumbled, and therefore left them out –
intentionally falling back on an excuse that the quality of the photographs washes them
out (an excuse they did actually give).

Some photographs are high-quality, however, and yet still no stars are shown. Certainly
eerie, considering you can take pictures of stars from Earth in much lower quality and still
see them.

The “C” Rock


3

One of the most famous photos from the moon landings shows a rock in the foreground,
with what appears to be the letter “C” engraved into it. The letter appears to be almost
perfectly symmetrical, meaning it is unlikely to be a natural occurrence. It has been
suggested that the rock is simply a prop, with the “C” used as a marker by an alleged film
crew. A set designer could have turned the rock the wrong way, accidentally exposing the
marking to the camera.

NASA has given conflicting excuses for the letter, on the one hand blaming a photographic
developer for adding the letter as a practical joke, while on the other hand saying that it
may simply have been a stray hair which got tangled up somewhere in the developing
process.

The Layered Cross-hairs


2
The cameras used by astronauts during the moon landings had a multitude of cross-hairs
to aid with scaling and direction. These are imprinted over the top of all photographs. Some
of the images, however, clearly show the cross-hairs behind objects in the scene, implying
that photographs may have been edited or doctored after being taken. The photograph
shown above is not an isolated occurrence. Many objects are shown to be in front of the
cross-hairs, including the American flag in one picture and the lunar rover in another.

Conspiracy theorists have suggested NASA printed the man-made objects over a legitimate
photograph of the moon to hoax the landings – although if they really planned on doing
this, then why they used cross-hairs in the first place is a mystery.

The Duplicate Backdrop


1
The two photos from the Apollo 15 mission shown above clearly have identical backdrops,
despite being officially listed by NASA as having been taken miles apart. One photo even
shows the lunar module. When all photographs were taken the module had already landed,
so how can it possibly be there for one photo and disappear in another? Well, if you’re a
hardcore conspiracy theorist, it may seem viable that NASA simply used the same backdrop
when filming different scenes of their moon landing videos.

NASA has suggested that since the moon is much smaller than Earth, horizons can appear
significantly closer to the human eye. Despite this, to say that the two hills visible in the
photographs are miles apart is incontrovertibly false.

The Stanley Kubrick Theory


Bonus
This loose extension of the popular conspiracy theory states that acclaimed film director
Stanley Kubrick was approached by the US government to hoax the first three moon
landings. There are two main branches of this somewhat implausible theory: one group of
believers maintain that Kubrick was approached after he released 2001: A Space Odyssey
(released in 1968, one year before the first moon landing), after NASA came to appreciate
the stunning realism of the film’s outer-space scenes at that time; another group contends
that Kubrick was groomed by the government to film the moon landing long before this,
and that 2001: A Space Odyssey was a staged practice run for him.

So what evidence might support such claims? Well: apparently, if you watch The Shining
(another Kubrick picture), you can pick up on some alleged messages hidden by Kubrick to
subtly inform the world of his part in the conspiracy. The most obvious is the child’s Apollo
11 shirt worn in only one scene. Another supposed gem is the line written on Jack
Nicholson’s character’s typewriter: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, in which
the word “all” can be interpreted as A11, or Apollo 11.

If you aren’t convinced yet, Kubrick made the mysterious hotel room in the film number
237. Guess how many miles it is from here to the moon: 238,000. So divide that by a
thousand and minus one, and you’ve got one airtight theory right there.

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This comment is awaiting moderation. Show comment. −

Dalton > zi artitect


− ⚑
2 years ago
You sir, are my hero. I knew this List was ridiculous because the first sentence says "LANCE
ARMSTRONG" really? Do you know anything about the list your writing?
396 △ ▽ Reply

Lastman0714 > Dalton


− ⚑
2 years ago
Sounds like you were hired by the government to cover it all up. Nice job. You got all the
dumbasses believing the lie...
473 △ ▽ Reply

This comment is awaiting moderation. Show comment. −


Jackie > James
− ⚑
a year ago
Dear James, by your comments I believe you still believe that 9/11 was an outside terrorist
attack.
If our government was capable of killing our people, why not to make up this story. In the
end of the day is all in the name of our best interests, right?
101 △ ▽ Reply

Raging Misnomer > Jackie


− ⚑
a year ago
9/11 was definitely an inside job, but I don't see the same kind of strong evidence
surrounding the moon landing. This is very much a conspiracy in my mind. The government
stood to profit and gain from 9/11, but I don't see the motive let alone the proof for staging
landing on the moon. Illegitimate comparison.
41 △ ▽ Reply

MultiKingdarius . > Raging Misnomer


− ⚑
a year ago
SIMPLE: They wanted everyone in the world to believe they had landed on the moon first, so
they would feel all bad ass. America was formed of lies among many other bad things. Not
hard AT ALL to believe they faked the moon landing for I guess you can say political
reasons, money was not the motive at all. Sure to the public you would think "what's to
gain" ? Trust me, there was a lot to gain and they surely gained it alright. Everybody in the
world, especially brainwashed kids along with dumbass teachers in schools across
America think the U.S landed on the Moon to go pick up rocks, dirt, and study bullshit. Hell
no, that just simply was not the case. There is NO PROOF they landed on the moon. As
evidence CLEARLY shows, there are just too many inconstancies on what we were shown
and old. They lied and continue to lie to the American public about what's going on in outer
space and what technology has shown them, that they obviously wont show or tell us. Just
think about the things we can do nowadays. Send things to Mars and take pictures of that
Planet. Really ? You honestly think if they found evidence of other life forms or any type life
they would show us the original pictures or evidence ? Fuck no, of course not. You my
people must really wake up and peep the game, we are being lied to on what's really going
on and as result, we are essentially fucked.

see more

98 △ ▽ Reply

RS > MultiKingdarius .
− ⚑
a year ago
a year ago
Yes you are being lied to. By people who profit by web site clicks and self promotion. Of
course you can get a small percentage of people to believe anything. The New York Times
refused for a time to publish pictures of the Wright brothers first flights. People thought the
pictures of geysers at Yellowstone were hoaxes. And people who believe we did not land on
the moon are just gullible souls looking for some attention. All these supposed hoaxes or
so called false flag operations are just nonsense. How many people do you suppose it
takes to create these incidents? Hundreds? Thousands? And never does anyone come up
with any proof. You are just angry little people with no proof living in your moms basement.
52 △ ▽ Reply

veronika > RS
− ⚑
10 months ago
Wow Angrily put .
XD
I observe good arguments on both sides. And with that said, I believe it is ignorant and
narcissistic to wholeheartedly (angrily), insult and condemn the other side unless YOU OF
COURSE , HAVE 1st hand experience or absolute proof. Shallow minded people are so sad
to me

37 △ ▽ Reply

Michael Austin > veronika


− ⚑
8 months ago
You're kidding, right? If you believe the moon landings were faked then you deserve to be
called what you are, which is a complete idiot.
34 △ ▽ Reply

Sully > Michael Austin


− ⚑
8 months ago
If they aren't faked then how come we don't have people on the moon right now? You don't
think technology has improved since 1969? Get the hell out of here, fool.
52 △ ▽ Reply

Cooper > Sully


− ⚑
4 months ago
Why do we not have people at the bottom of the ocean right now .? Wow ,we don't have
people on the moon right now because there is no beneficial reason to do so. It would be
enormously expensive and for what ?nothing There is nothing we need or want up their so
sending people their would be retatedly expensive for nothing. Do it just cuz tech has
improved is again pointless.we did not go to the moon cuz we could or cuz we are "great
american explorers" we went cuz we were at war with Russia and we were getting our
american explorers" we went cuz we were at war with Russia and we were getting our
asses kicked in the space race.so your idiotic summation that it is proof we never went cuz
we have no people their now is stupid , makes no sence . I have posted proof that we went 5
posts up from your uneducated post.
11 △ ▽ Reply

Adrian M. Kleinbergen > Cooper


− ⚑
a month ago
There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden....
0△ ▽ Reply

david bowie > Cooper


− ⚑
2 months ago
we know so much about the moon, i mean its just ... seriously weak ass shit dude.
0△ ▽ Reply

Michael Austin > Sully


− ⚑
7 months ago
You're kidding I hope. You can't be that stupid.
15 △ ▽ Reply

Wulf Nesthead > Michael Austin


− ⚑
6 months ago
Wow your reply is just to call the other person stupid?
You just lost all credibility.
13 △ ▽ Reply

Michael Austin > Wulf Nesthead


− ⚑
6 months ago
Oh no, I just lost all credibility with people who think the moon landings were a hoax.
30 △ ▽ Reply

This comment was deleted. −

Janet Kitchener > Guest


− ⚑
3 months ago
What a terrible loss
0△ ▽ Reply
John Martin > Wulf Nesthead
− ⚑
a month ago
Did he have any credibility before that?
0△ ▽ Reply

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