"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Everyone has heard this quote, and it's synonymous with the first moon landing. However, there are also a great number of people who believe that the moon landing never happened in the first place. The conspiracy goes that the moon landing was faked because the United States government was afraid of losing to the Soviets in the Space Race. To prevent that from happening, they faked the moon landing by filming Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on their mission to the "moon". In turn, they would win the Space Race and the United States wouldn't lose face.
So why do people believe in this conspiracy? One of the features that people point out is that simply said, no other organization other than NASA had proof of the moon landing. This meant that they could have very easily altered the truth to fit their narrative. Additionally, many people question why in films of the landing, the American flag is moving as if there is wind. No such wind should have existed on the moon because there is a vacuum in space.
As such, the conspiracy goes that the moon landing was filmed either in the Hollywood Hills or Area 51 with the help of director Stanley Kubrick. His work on 2001: A Space Odyssey made him the perfect choice for the situation and provided the necessary background for the fake moon landing. The theory goes as far to even claim that the astronauts who died in a fire while testing equipment for the first moon landing were killed by the government because they were going to reveal the truth.
Despite these claims, there is also a great amount of evidence proving that this conspiracy is false, and NASA has many responses to the questions posed by the conspirators. First of all, the samples of moon rock brought back by the mission have been tested by various independent groups, who have verified that the rocks are actually from the moon. Furthermore, in response to the claims about the flag, NASA stated that such movement occurred because Aldrin was twisting the flag as he set it in place.
Whether or not we believe in the moon landing is a personal choice, there are plenty of facts that point to either side. In the end, maybe Neil Armstrong wasn't the first man to represent mankind on the moon.
SOURCE : http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html
https://www.space.com/17307-neil-armstrong-one-small-step-quote.html
Nice one Sophia. I find it interesting how far we had advanced from the moon landing. Now that we have accessibility to technology to send people to Mars instead of the moon. However I would like to point out that even if Neil Armstrong was not the first man in space, there is always Pete Conrad or Alan Lavalern Bean both American. So despite the conspiracy, the Americans would have the first to land on the moon .
ReplyDeleteSophia, it's always interesting to hear about conspiracy theories, and almost frightening to find that there are people who truly believe things that most people take to be false. I think it is important though to take time to understand and listen to people that believe otherwise, whether it be conspiracy theories or other issues. By doing so it can help close the divide that we have in society today.
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