Who Has Been to the Moon?
Men Who've Walked the Moon and Refuting Moon Hoax Theories
On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took mankind’s first steps on the Moon. From 1969 to 1972 twelve American men walked on the Moon while another twelve orbited. However, 40 years later roughly 6% of Americans believe it never happened, according to the July 13, 2009 New York Times article “Vocal Minority Insists It Was All Smoke And Mirrors” by John Shwartz. Yet the Moon Hoax conspiracy theories have been debunked time and again by NASA and independent scientists, proving that man has walked on the moon.
A List of Men Who Have Been to the Moon
NASA provides a detailed timeline of lunar missions on its webpage “Lunar Exploration Timeline” including spacecraft of all nationalities that have made it close to the moon.
Apollo 8 launched Dec. 21 1968. Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders are the first men to orbit the moon.
Apollo 10, launched May 18 1969, allowed Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan to orbit the moon.
Apollo 11 landed on the moon July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon while Michael Collins manned their shuttle. The men took photographs and collected rocks as proof of their trip.
Apollo 12, landed Nov. 19 1969, had Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan L. Bean walk on the moon while Richard F. Gordon orbited.
Apollo 14 landed Feb 5 1971, so that Alan Shepard and Edgar D. Mitchell could walk on the moon February 5 1971 while Stuart A. Roosa watched the craft.
Apollo 15 landed July 30 1971 letting David R. Scott and James B. Irwin land on the moon while Alfred M. Worden orbited.
Apollo 16 brought John W. Young and Charles M. Duke to land on the moon on April 21, 1972 while Thomas K. Mattingly II watched.
Apollo 17 landed Dec 11 1972 bringing Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt to the moon while Ronald E. Evans orbited.
Background of the Moon Hoax Theories
The Moon Hoax conspiracy theory holds that man has never made it to the moon and that America staged the first landing on a movie set on Earth in order to win the space race with the Soviet Union. Phil Plait, an astronomer and teacher, refutes the Moon Hoax theory on his Bad Astronomy website. The Apollo Moon Hoax theory gained credence when Fox TV ran a program called “Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?” on February 15 2001. The program interviewed people claiming to have evidence against the landings, however much of this evidence is based on poor logic and wrong science.
Disputing the Main Arguments of the Moon Hoax
One of the main arguments of the hoax believers is to point out that stars do not appear in any of the landing photographs. This is due to the exposure setting of the camera. Since the photographer is taking pictures of brightly lit spacesuits on a brightly lit Moon, he has to set a fast exposure time which doesn’t register the faint stars in the background.
Another argument put out by the hoax is the appearance of the flag waving in a breeze. There is no breeze on the moon however a flag can wave in a vacuum. The astronauts had to rotate the flag into the moon’s surface and this momentum caused the flag to wave.
Responding to the Moon Hoax
NASA replied in a February 23 2001 article “The Great Moon Hoax” that researchers in thousands of labs around the world have examined moon rocks and none challenge their origin. There is little reason for an international army of scientists to play along with such a hoax and this greatly weakens the conspiracy theorists' arguments. Many arguments have been put out by the hoax believers and all have disputed with a little science and logic. Bad Astronomy and many other scientists have taken the time to arrive at the truth.
Mankind Has Made it to the Moon
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