The Moon Conspiracy

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Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations are claims that some or all elements of the Apollo Moon landings were faked by NASA and possibly members of other involved organizations. Some groups and individuals have advanced various theories which tend, to varying degrees, to include the following common elements:

• The Apollo Astronauts did not land on the Moon;
• NASA and possibly others intentionally deceived the public into believing the landing(s) did occur by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence, including photos, telemetry tapes, transmissions, and rock samples;
• NASA and possibly others continue to actively participate in the conspiracy to this day.

Many commentators have published detailed rebuttals to the hoax claims. A 1999 poll by the The Gallup Organization found that 89 percent of the US public believed the landing was genuine, while 6 percent did not and 5 percent were undecided. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of the Apollo program and the third human voyage to the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above. The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" (1961 speech).

In addition to one million people crowding the highways and beaches near the launch site, an estimated audience of over 700 million people viewed the event on television, a new record at that time. President Richard Nixon viewed the proceedings from the Oval Office of the White House. A Saturn V launched Apollo 11 from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC (9:32 a.m. local time). It entered Earth's orbit 12 minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the Trans Lunar Injection burn. About 30 minutes later the command/service module pair separated from the last remaining Saturn V stage and docked with the lunar module still nestled in the Lunar Module Adaptor. On July 19 Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit. In the thirty orbits that followed, the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern Sea of Tranquility about 20 kilometers (12 mi) southwest of the crater Sabine D (0.67408N, 23.47297E). The landing site was selected in part because it had been characterized as relatively flat and smooth by the automated Ranger 8 and Surveyor 5 landers along with the Lunar Orbiter mapping spacecraft. It was therefore unlikely to present major landing or extra-vehicular activity (EVA) challenges. On July 20, 1969 the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module Columbia. Collins, alone aboard Columbia, inspected Eagle as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged. Armstrong and Aldrin used Eagle's descent engine to right themselves and descend to the lunar surface.

As the landing began Armstrong reported they were "running long." Eagle was 4 seconds further along its descent trajectory than planned and would land miles west of the intended site. The LM navigation and guidance computer reported several unusual "program alarms" as it guided the LM's descent, drawing the crew's attention from the scene outside as the descent continued. Inside NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, computer engineer Jack Garman told guidance officer Steve Bales it was safe to continue the descent in spite of the alarms. When Armstrong returned his attention to the view outside it was apparent the computer was guiding them towards a large crater with rocks scattered around it. Armstrong took manual control of the lunar module and with Aldrin calling out data from the radar and computer, guided it to a landing at 20:17 UTC on July 20 with about 30 seconds of fuel left.

The program alarms were "executive overflows" indicating the computer was not completing all its processing tasks. The cause was later traced to a training error: The computer spent unplanned time processing extra data from the LM rendezvous radar which had been left on during descent. Although Apollo 11 landed with less fuel than other missions, they also encountered a premature low fuel warning. It was later found to be caused by the lunar gravity permitting greater propellant 'slosh' which had uncovered a fuel sensor. On future missions extra baffles were added to the tanks. Buzz Aldrin spoke the first words (albeit technical jargon) from the LM on the lunar surface. Throughout the descent Aldrin had called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the LM. As Eagle landed Aldrin said, "Contact light! Okay, engine stop. ACA - out of detent." Armstrong acknowledged "Out of detent" and Aldrin continued, "Mode control - both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm - off. 413 is in."

Then Armstrong said the famous words, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." This partially confused the staff at Mission Control since Armstrong had only given the name Tranquility Base to the landing site immediately after touchdown. Shortly after landing, before preparations began for the EVA, Aldrin broadcast that: This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way. He then took Communion privately. At this time NASA was still fighting a lawsuit brought by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair (who had objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Book of Genesis) which demanded that their astronauts refrain from religious activities while in space. As such, Aldrin (an Episcopalian) chose to refrain from directly mentioning this. He had kept the plan quiet (not even mentioning it to his wife) and did not reveal it publicly for several years.

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