Do You Believe in the Moon Landing?

[Spideyzilla]

I thought this would be the next addition. I don't want anyone talking bad of the astronauts if they don't believe in it. So, was it real? I'm divided on this one, but I do think it is real. What do you think? It's time to talk!

 

[DarthGonzo]

Of course it was real. I didn't know this was something that was up for debate.

 

[James]

I read both sides of this debate a couple of years back. Every conspiracy fact I've read can be explained away very easily. A quick google and you'll find sites accrediting explanations by scientists in the field. I don't really think there is any doubt - particularly as most theories are by back-seat science enthusiasts who don't have any particularly strong credentials (and in most cases, none at all) to their name.

EDIT: DG - oh yes, there is a fringe that refute NASA on this, but if you do a hunt, you'll find that while on the face of it, their queries sound reasonable, once you look into physics, they don't stand up whatsoever.

 

[Spideyzilla]

Of course it was real. I didn't know this was something that was up for debate.

A lot of people think it was faked on a sound stage. It's a conspiracy theory.

 

[The Cartoon]

Yeah, I think it's real. I guess that there isn't a lot of evidence either way but I don't really see how it could have been fake.

 

[SuperMegaHyper]

Yes. NASA landed Apollo 11, this is a scientific/historical fact.

 

[BonyT]

There's a lot of circumstantial evidence for the reality of the Moon landings that would be pretty tough to fake. As just one example, the astronauts placed reflective mirrors on the Moon's surface, aimed directly back at Earth. Scientists all over the world still use these (because, of course, the Moon always presents the same side of itself to Earth, throughout it's rotation) to bounce laser beams off of; by measuring very precisely the time it takes the beam to bounce back, scientists get a VERY precise measure of the Moon's distance from Earth. (Based on those measures, btw, we now know that the Moon is gradually moving away from the Earth, at the rate of about 3.8 centimeters a year, if I'm remembering the figures correctly.) At any rate, it's awfully tough to imagine some kind of unmanned probe being able to place those delicate mirrors so precisely aimed directly back at Earth, especially given the limits of technology at the time. That seems like a task only human hands could have accomplished, especially then.

 

[chdr]

What would the government have to gain from faking a moon landing?

 

[Daxdiv]

What would the government have to gain from faking a moon landing?

Red Scare anyone?

 

[Discloner]

What would the government have to gain from faking a moon landing?

A show of space and general technological superiority to the world.

Of course they could also show this by actually building, innovating, and accomplishing a trip to the moon - which, is what actually happened...so.

 

[GWOtaku]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqlo_spATEM

Also, there is plenty of documentation that we've done it. I have no use for conspiracy nuts that can't even pay attention to obvious facts.

 

[Spideyzilla]

True. I believe it was real, I just wondered if anyone else did not believe.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

Yes I beleive it

Of course it was real. I didn't know this was something that was up for debate.

It was thirty some years ago

 

[BonyT]

What would the government have to gain from faking a moon landing?

The presumptive motive would be a Cold War publicity victory over the Soviets *IF* the Moon landing had been faked -- which of course it wasn't. And for that matter, such a tactic actually sounds MUCH more like the Soviets' modus operandi in the space race than the Americans'.

The US space program attempted everything in the fish bowl of public scrutiny, every launch announced well in advance, ensuring coverage of even the most embarrassing and tragic failures. Nothing went unnoticed, from rockets blowing up scarcely 100 feet above the launch pad again and again, to the horrible tragic deaths of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee in a training exercise on the launch pad, to continuous coverage as Apollo 13 danced moment by moment on the brink of tragedy --- usually to the embarrassment of the government, not to mention the scorn of the American and international media, occasionally threatening the very future of the space program itself.

In the starkest of contrasts, standard Soviet operating procedure was to attempt something space-related in ABSOLUTE secrecy, keeping it hidden not only from the rest of the world, but even from their own citizens. Then, if whatever it was succeeded, they would announce it (or the positive parts of it anyway) to the world as a glowing triumph. If however it failed, crashed, people died, etc., they would simply never tell anyone that anything was ever attempted. A lot of this stuff never came to light until the fall of the Soviet Union, when documents got released that gave details on previously unknown missions and added a number of names to the ranks of those who lost their lives in the Soviet space program. A couple of examples:

-- When it became obvious the Americans would be first with men to the Moon, the Soviets attempted to upstage Armstrong & Aldrin before they could make footprints by landing an unmanned probe, scooping up a Moon rock & rocketing it back home. However, landing on the Moon turned out to be a LOT more complex than they (or we for that matter) had anticipated, and the thing just crashed into the Moon's surface; so the Soviets simply kept mum about it. (The Soviets did eventually land a very successful rover on the Moon, however; but that's another story.)

-- Remember learning about Yuri Gagarin in school, first human in space? Well, he was indeed ... except for one little hitch that never made the history books: The real underlying presumption in everyone's mind about the race for the first man in space was that he would pilot a craft successfully into space and then land it safely again on Earth. Problem is, the Soviets had no IDEA how to land the thing on Earth again --- and in fact they didn't even try. When the capsule got low enough back in the atmosphere, Gagarin simply abandoned ship and parachuted back to Earth, which was the plan all along, allowing the ship to crash and burn. The Soviets left the crash-and-burn part conveniently out of the headlines.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A873902

 

[DisneyBoy]

I remember being a little shaken when I first heard the rumors it was faked.

But honestly? Either way, I don't care.

 

[BonyT]

I remember being a little shaken when I first heard the rumors it was faked.

But honestly? Either way, I don't care.

Really? Wow. Different perspectives I suppose. To me, people finding a way to brave conditions so utterly inhospitable to life and men actually walking on a whole other world remains the single greatest achievement of human will in all of history. It's far beyond merely epic -- a real-life event that is in fact profoundly mythic.

I can't think about the Moon landing without being reminded of the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The LORD looks down on what the people have achieved and says, "... and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them." (Gen 11.6)

 

[Jave]

Since I don't think the non-believers have managed to prove it's fake, I believe it. I also don't see the point in faking it.

By the way, anyone here old enough to have seen it live?

 

[BonyT]

Since I don't think the non-believers have managed to prove it's fake, I believe it. I also don't see the point in faking it.

By the way, anyone here old enough to have seen it live?

No. But my Mom has told me many times about what it was like to watch it live, and the awe of the experience is still palpable for her to this day. Maybe our generation will get to experience something like that someday with humans setting foot on Mars.

 

[DisneyBoy]

It's not quite on the same level, but Obama ascending to the seat of president was pretty darn epic.

It's not so much that I don't agree it's a big achievement, Bony, as I worry about where our priorities are. Landing on the moon, exploring outer space...it's all going to lead us exactly where all our other big steps have - towards improving life for ourselves at all costs. We're selfish like that, and the consequences of our affects on Earth will be felt long, long after we're all dead and gone. The more we explore space, the more we're going to bring our problems with us.

Clean up your house before you go and stay with friends, I say.

And really, the moon? I have personal issues slightly more relevant to my life. I sincerely doubt anything in my life will be impacted by weather or not there really was a moon landing. There could be a whole bunch of people living up there right now in space houses, sipping space iced tea. It doesn't affect me.

So I guess that makes me selfish too

 

[Michael24]

All of the hoax claims have been less than impressive and/or easily disproved, IMO. I say it happened.