Uncovering the Truth: Did We Really Land on the Moon?
This blog explores the persistent conspiracy theories surrounding the Apollo 11 moon landing, diving into various claims made by skeptics, from camera handling in space suits to lighting discrepancies and shadow inconsistencies.
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1/21/20257 min read


Failed Earth Landing Attempt
Fourteen months before landing on the moon, the Moon Lander that was supposed to go to the moon was being practiced for landing on Earth by Neil Armstrong. But this experiment failed miserably because Neil Armstrong couldn’t land the prototype. Luckily, in the last two seconds, he managed to eject and save himself. But after Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon, conspiracy theorists were back at it, questioning how it managed to land on the moon when it couldn’t even be controlled on Earth. This was all over TV again.
Ongoing Conspiracy Theories
Welcome, folks! It's been 54 years since Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, but a lot of people still believe it was all just a big hoax cooked up by NASA and the U.S. When you hear some of these conspiracy theories, they actually make some sense. They bring up pretty logical points that can make an average person wonder if the U.S. really was lying to us. Could those moon landings have been filmed in some barren desert instead? It's funny how this theory keeps popping up every now and then.
Buzz Aldrin’s Reaction
They always find some excuse to stay relevant. Like in 2002, when Bart Sibrel, a well-known figure who thought the moon landings were fake, confronted Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin with some ridiculous questions in front of the media. Aldrin got so mad that he punched Sibrel right in the face. That moment reignited the theory against the moon landings. People started saying that Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, must have felt threatened by conspiracy theories, which is why he snapped. But what’s the real deal? Were NASA's moon landings for real, or not?
The Cold War Space Race
"Was there really a secret plan to undermine the Soviet Union during the Cold War? In the early days of the space race, it was the Soviet Union that launched the first satellite into space. Not only that, but they also sent the first unmanned spacecraft to touch the moon, a whole 10 years before NASA’s Apollo 11 mission. So, what happened that the Soviet Union never managed to send humans to the moon, while NASA did it six times? Let’s break down these theories one by one and try to get to the truth."
Photography on the Moon
The first thing that raises doubts in people's minds is the camera that took photos on the moon. Marcus Allen is a photographer who knows a lot about this camera. He says that when he looks at the photos taken on the moon, he can't believe how astronauts managed to use such a complicated camera while wearing a spacesuit. And a spacesuit isn't just any suit; it's fully pressurized, which means it’s filled with air inside, making it hard to move your hands and fingers.
Experiments and Camera Modifications
Moving around isn't really possible in a vacuum. Conspiracy theorist Renny did an experiment where he wore astronaut gloves and put his hand inside a container. At first, he could move his hand and fingers freely, but once he used a compressor to suck all the air out of the container, the gloves stiffened up. It became really hard to move his hand in that vacuum chamber. He said that in that condition, pressing a camera trigger or setting the focus would be impossible. If that's true, then on the moon...
Shadows on the Lunar Surface
This iconic photo taken during the mission is so sharp and perfect because, according to aerospace engineer Jay Widley, the camera used by the astronauts on the moon was the Hasselblad 500 EL camera, which was specially modified for lunar missions. It could slide and attach to the astronauts' suits, so they didn't have to hold it in their hands. Plus, the shutter button was made pretty big to make it easy for the astronauts to press with their gloves, and the focus ring was also modified to be usable even with stiff gloves.
Questioning Lighting and Shadows
They could rotate because the astronauts wouldn't be able to see much left, right, or up and down through their space suit helmets. That's why astronauts practiced a lot back on Earth, so they could capture great photos on the moon. In these amazing photos, there's a conspiracy theory about shadows. A former head of the American rocket company Dynetics believes that the shadows in the pictures prove we never actually went to the moon. He argues that many of the shadows in the photos taken on the moon aren't parallel to each other, especially during Apollo missions.
Explanation of Shadows
When the 11 astronauts were on the moon, the only light source was the sun, so the shadows should have been parallel to each other. That's why many people believe these photos were taken in a studio with artificial lights. The closer the light source, the more spread out the shadows would be. If you look at this photo, the shadow of the lander's landing gear is going one way, but the astronaut's shadow is going the other way. It might sound like these shadows are indeed caused by artificial lighting.
Reflective Lighting and Flag Phenomena
They're being made, but experts believe that on the ground, shadows often aren't parallel to each other. For shadows to be parallel, both objects need to be standing parallel to each other as well. Plus, if the photo is taken with a wide-angle lens, the shadows won't look parallel either. And if the surface isn't smooth, the shadows won't be parallel either. There's another theory that often gets mentioned in conspiracy discussions about Aldrin stepping down from the lunar lander, where sunlight isn't hitting the side of the lander, yet Aldrin still...
Moon Surface Reflection
"Why does the lander’s shadow look completely black while the astronaut’s body is well-lit? Conspiracy theorist Marcus Allen says this is only possible if there’s some other soft light shining on them. Sure, there’s no atmosphere on the moon, so sunlight doesn’t scatter, but when that light hits the moon’s surface, it reflects and bounces back. Just like how our Earth is illuminated on a full moon night, that’s how the backlight hits astronaut Aldrin in this photo."
Flag Visibility and Movement
When talking about the lightning reflecting off the moon's surface, people also look at the light passing the American flag with suspicion. There's a conspiracy theory that if one side of the American flag is lit by the sun, then how is the other side perfectly lit too? The truth is, the American flag placed on the moon was made of nylon, and this material allows light to pass through easily. But if there's no air on the moon, why was the flag waving when it was planted? Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin says that the flag...
Dust and Thruster Effects
We hadn’t practiced setting up on the moon before, and to plant the flagpole in the ground, we had to twist and push down hard because the gravity on the moon is really low. That’s why the astronauts had to exert so much force, and at that moment, the flag was waving more than it should, making it look like the wind was blowing it. Another thing was that the flag was designed in a way that there was an aluminum rod on the sides, but there was also a rod on the top part to support it.
The Mystery of Lunar Crater Formation
"Some conspiracy theorists and famous author Ralph Rani raised a question about the moon landing that just doesn’t add up with what we know about Earth's atmosphere. He points out that when you use a blower on dirt or even small rocks, the air pressure is enough to disturb the soil and create a little crater. However, this blower is definitely much weaker than the thrusters of the moon lander. So, why did it move a bunch of dirt and rocks around, but the Apollo 11 lander didn’t leave even a tiny crater underneath it?"
Thrust Impact on Lunar Surface
So, what was supposed to happen was that when the lander touched down, the dust from the moon’s surface would completely cover the landing gear. But there’s barely any dust on it. The physicists say that the lander’s rocket motors were shut off just a few feet before landing, and by the time it touched the moon, the thrust was already reduced by 75%. Because of this, it didn’t create any crater, but if you look closely at the pictures, you can see that the thrust did move some dust around, spreading it in different directions. However, there just isn't enough to cover the landing gear at all.
The Issue of No Visible Stars
Let's assume that if there was a thrust of 25, that would mean 1250 kg of thrust. If that much thrust was acting on Earth, it would definitely create a big crater. But why didn’t it do that on the Moon? This hasn't been explained in the context of Earth's atmosphere yet. Another big question often raised in conspiracy theories is about photos where the sky looks completely black, just like it does at night on Earth. But why aren't there any stars visible? The camera lens works like the human eye; when we look in complete darkness, our eyes...
Concluding Thoughts on Moon Landing
Stars get bigger to let in more light, and that's why our pupils dilate when we look at bright lights. If you've ever had the chance, you might've noticed that when stargazing, it's best to keep the area completely dark so our pupils can open up and let in even the faintest starlight. But if someone turns on a light in that situation, the stars become invisible. It was similar during the Apollo 11 mission when photos were taken on the moon; the entire surface was shining from the sunlight.
The camera lens didn’t capture the stars because there was already so much light coming in that it overwhelmed the light from the stars. Even though the moon was getting sunlight, the sky appeared black because there’s no atmosphere on the moon. Our Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight, which is why we see a blue sky during the day, but in reality, it’s just black behind that atmosphere. Do you think the U.S. really sent humans to the moon or not?