The successful completion of the Artemis II mission marked another defining moment in modern spaceflight. For the first time since the Apollo era, humans once again travelled beyond low Earth orbit, circled the Moon, and returned safely.
Despite these past and present historic achievements, scepticism still persists around the original Moon landings nearly 60 years ago. Here are five of the most common lunar landing hoax claims; and why they don’t hold up under scrutiny.
“The flag appears to wave in the wind.”
Critics argue that the American flag planted on the Moon seems to ripple, implying the presence of wind – impossible since the Moon lacks an atmosphere. In reality, the flag had a horizontal support rod to keep it extended. The “waving” effect occurred when astronauts twisted the pole into the ground, and without air resistance, the motion persisted longer than it would on Earth.
“There are no stars visible in the photos.”
Many expect the lunar sky to be filled with stars, yet Apollo photographs show a black void. The lunar surface is brightly lit by the Sun, and cameras were set to capture that brightness. Stars, being far dimmer, simply didn’t register. Imagine photographing a nighttime scene with well-lit foreground. Exposure times need to be short to not ‘blow out’ the foreground. This short exposure is not long enough to capture the faint stars in the sky.
“The shadows are inconsistent, suggesting multiple light sources.”
Some images show shadows at slightly different angles, which conspiracy theorists attribute to studio lighting. However, this effect is entirely consistent with uneven terrain and perspective distortion. The Moon’s surface is not flat, and wide-angle lenses can exaggerate angles, making parallel shadows appear divergent. This can, and has, been repeatedly demonstrated here on Earth.
“There’s no blast crater beneath the lunar module.”
Sceptics claim that the module’s descent engine should have created a noticeable crater. In fact, the lunar module’s engine was designed to throttle down significantly during landing to ensure a soft landing. Combined with the Moon’s low gravity and the nature of its fine, compacted regolith (lunar soil), the result is a very subtle disturbance rather than a dramatic crater.
“The Van Allen radiation belts would have killed the astronauts.”
The Van Allen belts are regions of charged particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. While hazardous, the Apollo trajectories were carefully planned to minimize exposure, and the spacecraft passed through them quickly. The radiation dose received by astronauts was well within safe limits – comparable to or even less than some long-duration medical imaging exposures.
In addition to the above, samples of lunar rocks have been analysed by multiple institutions around the world, with all agreeing that the chemistry of the rocks does not match any known rocks on Earth. And we can still fire lasers at the mirrors left of the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts to accurately measure its distance from Earth.
But ironically, perhaps the most conclusive argument comes from the Americans’ direct competitor. The original Apollo landings were the culmination of the Cold War space race: a power struggle between the USA and Russia. America won the race to put a man on the Moon, but not once did the Russians suggest that they cheated, or staged the landing. If anyone was going to question it, surely it would have been the losing side!
There will always be people who question the landings, and they have every right to, but they do not have the right to take away from arguably one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Even though the original missions were somewhat politically motivated, to safely land and return astronauts from the Moon, only 65 years after we invented flight, is a testament to human ingenuity and ambition.
Soon we will return astronauts to the lunar surface once again, and this time set up permanent structures. There are plans to convert ice on the lunar surface into breathable oxygen and use the lunar soil to 3D print structural components. There are even tentative ideas about building telescopes on the Moon’s surface.
There will always be doubters, but I for one, am incredibly excited about humanity’s expansion to the stars!
Ben Coley / Celestial Events SA can be contacted on 079 575 0900
