There is a widespread misconception that the author of the theory that started it all is the American writer Bill Kaysing, who published the book We Never Went to the Moon in 1976.
However, as shown by polls conducted in 1970 and 1976, the percentage of those who doubted the reality of the landing was high, and before the publication of Kaysing's book, publications questioning them began to appear as early as 1969. In 1970, a book by mathematician J. Kraini was published, in which he questioned the landing.
In his book, Bill Kaysing formulated the main arguments of the lunar conspiracy theory:
The level of technological development of NASA did not allow sending a man to the moon.
The absence of stars in photographs from the lunar surface.
The astronauts' film was supposed to melt from the midday temperature on the Moon.
Various optical anomalies in photographs.
Waving flag in a vacuum.
Promotional video:
A flat surface instead of craters that should have formed as a result of the landing of lunar modules from their engines.
Since 1996, interest in the lunar conspiracy theory has reappeared, including in Russia. At the same time, in recent years, counter-theories have been expressed about the lunar conspiracy as a cover operation.
Supporters' arguments
Supporters of the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" argue, in particular, that there are contradictions in the photographs and films about the moon landings, and also that the implementation of such flights in those years was "technically impossible." The theory claims that the United States went to falsification for reasons of raising its prestige due to the lag behind the USSR in space achievements in the early 1960s.
Contradictions in official NASA documents
According to the official NASA report (history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/apollo11_log/log.htm) (JULY 20 11:41 pm), as many as 190 flags were flying to the moon - 3 flags of the United States, 50 flags of states and territories, 136 flags of different countries and 1 UN flag. The US flag is said to have its top edge attached to the crossbar with a wire spiral. However, there is an inventory (history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11stowage.pdf) inventory, which lists absolutely all the items that were in the lunar module, indicating the number, location and weight. This inventory (marked on the title page "FINAL RELEASE") does not mention any flags.
There is (ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940008327_1994008327.pdf) a document that describes the design of the flag, where no wire spirals are used to attach the panel to the crossbar, the location of the flag is indicated (in the unfortunate place in terms of balancing), and an interesting detail is added - some of the flags were outdated, although it is not mentioned anywhere where the remaining 189 flags could be stored in the lunar module at all.
Photo and video materials
Retouched NASA image in original and gamma-corrected form, cited by some supporters of the "lunar conspiracy" theory as evidence of the falsification of the Apollo program. An unretouched version of the photo can be found here (there is no dark outline on it). This kind of retouching is quite common in the print press and on the Internet.
Gravity on the Moon
Another argument is the height of the astronauts' jumps in the available NASA footage. According to the conspiracy theorists, if the filming were made on the Moon, then they would have captured jumps that are difficult to reproduce in terrestrial conditions (due to the fact that the gravity on the Moon is 6 times lower than on Earth). However, in contrast to the changed weight of the astronauts, their mass, and, consequently, the force that must be applied to jump in a spacesuit (about 160 kg), remained the same. That is, the maximum jump height on the Moon would be 6 times higher than the maximum jump height on Earth - with a mass of 160 kg. However, these arguments have nothing to do with walking.
Booster rocket
Proponents of the theory believe that the Saturn-5 rocket was never ready to launch, and they give the following reasons:
After a partially unsuccessful test launch of the Saturn-5 rocket on April 4, 1968, a manned flight followed, which, in the opinion of N. P. Kamanin (Soviet pilot and military leader, Air Colonel General), was a "pure gamble" in terms of safety.
In 1968, 700 employees of the Marshall Space Research Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the Saturn 5 was being developed, were fired.
In 1970, in the midst of the lunar program, the chief designer of the Saturn-5 rocket, Wernher von Braun, was relieved of his post as director of the Center and removed from the leadership of rocket development.
After the end of the lunar program and the launch of the Skylab into orbit, the remaining two rockets were not used for their intended purpose, but were sent to the museum.
The version about NASA's failures in the creation of hydrogen-oxygen engines is also considered. Proponents of this version claim that the second and third stages of Saturn-5 had kerosene-oxygen engines, like the first stage. The characteristics of such a rocket would not be enough to launch a full-fledged Apollo with a full-fledged lunar module into a circumlunar orbit, but it would be enough to fly around the Moon by a manned spacecraft and drop a greatly reduced model of the lunar module on the Moon.
Dark side of the Moon
The mock-documentary Dark Side of the Moon, released in 2002, featured an interview with Christian Kubrick, the widow of director Stanley Kubrick. In that film, she mentions that President Nixon, inspired by Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), called on the director and other Hollywood professionals to work together to fix the US image on the Lunar Program. The film was shown in particular on November 16, 2003 by CBS Newsworld.
Some major Russian news outlets presented the show as genuine research proving the reality of the lunar conspiracy, and Christiane Kubrick's interview was viewed by the theorists as confirmation that Stanley Kubrick filmed the American moon landing in Hollywood.
However, even during the credits scrolling at the end of the film, it is demonstrated that the interviews in the film are fake and are composed of phrases taken out of context or played out by the actors. Subsequently, the author of the film also confirmed that the film was a well-choreographed prank … In fact, even before the first flight, Kubrick actually directed the pavilion of photography and video shooting related to the Apollo flight to the moon. Photos and videos were taken, including demonstrating the astronauts' ascent to the lunar surface. The survey was carried out by order of NASA and was intended for the production of goods and souvenirs with the symbols of the Apollo program.
Unmanned lunar module versions
Some supporters of the lunar conspiracy theory suggest that, under the guise of manned ships, unmanned ships were delivered to the lunar surface, which could simulate (for example, by relaying) telemetry and negotiations with the Earth to falsify current or subsequent expeditions. The same unmanned spacecraft could carry autonomous scientific instruments, for example, corner reflectors, which are still used in scientific work on the location of the moon.
Proponents of such versions proceed from the assumption that an unmanned simulator for performing the declared tasks of the lunar program (placing scientific instruments on the Moon, spaced at a considerable distance from each other; collecting and delivering to Earth a much larger volume of different types of lunar soil from large areas, etc.) can be built easier and faster than a manned lunar module to accomplish the same tasks.
It can also be assumed that the Saturn-5 rocket had insufficient payload to deliver a manned lunar module to the moon and that an unmanned spacecraft could be lighter than a manned one. The exclusion of manned landing from lunar expeditions would neutralize the politically unacceptable, according to conspiracy theorists, risk of losing two crew members and the risk of losing the lunar race to the Soviet Union.
This version requires either the secret creation of a separate unmanned simulator, or a significant modification of the manned lunar module created as part of the lunar program (its equipping with an automatic soil sampling system, mechanisms for bringing scientific instruments into working order). It would also require falsification of all photographs and videos on the Moon and keeping this secret for decades. The thesis about the political unacceptability of the loss of the crew is not confirmed by practice: the death of people has never led, either in the USA or in the USSR, to the closure of large-scale space programs, either before or after the Apollo program.
The role of the USSR
One of the aspects of the "lunar conspiracy" theory is also attempts to explain the recognition by the Soviet Union of the American landing on the moon. Proponents of the lunar conspiracy theory believe that the USSR did not have convincing evidence of NASA's falsifications, other than incomplete intelligence information (or that the evidence did not appear immediately). The possibility of collusion between the USSR and the United States to cover up the alleged scam is assumed. The following versions of the reasons are called that could have prompted the USSR to enter into a "lunar conspiracy" with the United States and stop its lunar flyby and lunar landing manned lunar programs at the last stages of implementation:
1. The USSR did not immediately recognize the scam.
2. The leadership of the USSR refused to publicly disclose for the sake of political pressure on the United States (threats of exposure).
3. The USSR, in exchange for silence, could receive economic concessions and privileges, such as the supply of wheat at low prices and access to the West European oil and gas market.
4. The USA had political compromising material on the leadership of the USSR.
5. The USA banally bribed Brezhnev personally (an inveterate motorist who had 68 foreign cars) with expensive exclusive limousines:
In 1968 - a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow made specially for him (only 5 of them were made). Thanks to Armand Hammer. In 1969 (via Germany) - 6-door Mercedes 600 with a body "Pullman-limousine" (only 2 of these were made). 1972 - black Cadillac Eldorado with red leather interior. Brezhnev simply asked for an exclusive limousine worth half a million dollars as a gift (through Ambassador Dobrynin), and he was immediately presented (more precisely, sold for $ 1). In 1973 - Lincoln Continental 1972 (again Hammer hurried in advance) and Nissan President from Japan.
Soviet lunar conspiracy
According to one version, the USSR could not raise this topic, since it had its own secret failures, which in response could be officially presented to the world by the United States. Among them are the Dogagarin and later unsuccessful manned flights, including the alleged attempt to fly around the Moon by the spacecraft Zond-4, during which Gagarin was allegedly killed.
Supporters in Russia
An active supporter of the lunar conspiracy theory is the Russian publicist Yuri Mukhin. In his book Anti-Apollo. US Lunar Scam "Mukhin claims that the funds allocated by American taxpayers for flights to the moon were stolen, and the scenes of the" moon landing "were filmed on Earth by director Stanley Kubrick. According to the author, the Central Committee of the CPSU and some of the representatives of the scientific community of the USSR also participated in the conspiracy.
Another well-known supporter is A. I. Popov, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, who supports Mukhin's views in the book "Americans on the Moon: Great Breakthrough or Space Scam?"
The attitude of experts to the theory of the "lunar conspiracy"
An animated comparison of two photos showing that the flag is not moving
Many experts consider the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" frivolous. Supporters of the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" interpret in their favor individual statements of specialists, for example, a quote from a letter from employees of FSUE TsNIIMASH (Central Scientific Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering under the Federal Space Agency - is engaged in the design, experimental development and research of spacecraft and rockets):
"As for direct confirmation of the physical stay of astronauts on the Moon, they (negative or positive) will be undeniably obtained during the upcoming process of the exploration of the Moon …"
Conspiracy theorists call such statements "expert doubts."
Pilot-engineer, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who was supposed to head the lunar program of the USSR, when asked about a possible deception, said:
"Yes, there was a lot of noise, unfortunately, it began 25 years after one generation in America, when those who want to glorify themselves decided to accuse that, they say, there was no such flight."
Also, in an interview with RIA Novosti, A. A. Leonov said:
“Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the moon. And, unfortunately, this whole ridiculous epic about the allegedly fabricated Hollywood footage began with the Americans themselves. By the way, the first person who started spreading these rumors was sent to prison for libel"
In 2000, cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, in a broadcast on the Echo of Moscow radio station, expressed firm confidence in the reality of lunar expeditions and called the rumor about the existence of a "lunar conspiracy" "ridiculous", but suggested that the photograph of the flag was "taken". However, he did not specify which of the many photographs with the flag in question, and did not share the source of his assumptions.
Later, in an interview with BBC Russian, G. M. Grechko explained about the possible falsification of photographs:
“I was officially the first director of a post office in space and put out envelopes for the world's postal museums. But in zero gravity it was difficult. And I got bad stamp prints. But when I once went to one such museum, I saw my envelopes there, they were beautifully stamped. That is, the envelopes were in space, and there was a seal, and they were printed. Well, it turned out badly, it was printed on Earth, but that does not mean that it was not. The same story. Maybe it was a bad shot of the American flag on the Moon or a footprint of the sole, well, a couple of images were printed on Earth. But this does not cast any shadow on the brilliant, difficult program that could have ended dramatically."
G. M. Grechko specified:
“We know for sure that the Americans were on the moon. When we received signals from the Moon, we received them from the Moon, not from Hollywood. Do not believe these rumors, you need to talk to competent people"
Cosmonaut and spacecraft designer KP Feoktistov wrote in his book “The Trajectory of Life. Between yesterday and tomorrow :
“When Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins flew to the moon, our receiving radio equipment received signals from the Apollo 11 board, conversations, a television picture about going to the lunar surface. Arranging such a hoax is probably no less difficult than a real expedition. To do this, it would be necessary to land a television repeater on the lunar surface in advance and check its operation (with transmission to Earth), again in advance. And in the days of the imitation of the expedition, it was necessary to send a radio relay to the moon to simulate the Apollo radio communication with the Earth on the flight path to the Moon. And they did not hide the scale of work on Apollo. And what they showed me in Houston in 1969 (Control Center, stands, laboratories), factories in Los Angeles for the manufacture of Apollo ships and the descent vehicles that returned to Earth,according to this logic, it should have been an imitation ?! Too hard and too funny."
Meanwhile, supporters of the theory also cite evasively skeptical comments from other cosmonauts - O. G. Makarov, V. M. Afanasyev and others.
An illustration of the American landing on the moon at the 1989 joint US-Soviet postal unit.
In 2006, the head of the Federal Space Agency of Russia (Roscosmos) A. N. Perminov in an interview with the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty stated that he did not doubt the reality of lunar expeditions, but added that some of the video materials "just in case" were filmed "in Hollywood" that "the film shows that the astronauts are jumping to the wrong height, the flag is fluttering there." Nevertheless, the interview of Perminov (despite the unequivocal statement against the theory of the "lunar conspiracy" in general) is used by supporters of the conspiracy theory as one of the arguments in their favor.
First Deputy General Designer of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Legostaev, when asked whether the lunar expeditions were staged, answered:
"Of course not! I worked with the Americans for a long time - 5 years - under the Soyuz - Apollo program. It is impossible to mount such expeditions with the help of a movie, it is completely excluded. I worked with the people who created it, and I am sure that everything they say is true."
Photos of landing sites taken by spacecraft
On July 17, 2009, high-resolution images of the Apollo landing sites, taken by the LRO automatic interplanetary station, were published. These images show lunar modules and even traces left by astronauts as they move on the moon.
On August 11, 2009, in the vicinity of the Apollo 14 landing site, the automatic interplanetary station LRO captured images of the lunar surface with the Sun 24 degrees above the horizon, which more clearly showed soil changes from astronaut operations after lunar landing.
On September 3, 2009, a snapshot of the Apollo 12 landing site was published, taken by the automatic interplanetary station LRO. The image shows the instruments and footprints of astronauts, as well as the automatic apparatus Surveyor 3.
According to the Japanese space agency JAXA, the Japanese Kaguya spacecraft detected traces of the Apollo 15 lander.
According to a leading researcher at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Prakash Chauhan, the Indian spacecraft Chandrayan-1 received images of the American lander and the tracks left by the wheels of the rover used by astronauts to move on the Moon. In his opinion, even a preliminary analysis of the images provides grounds for dispelling all the versions that have been expressed that the expedition was allegedly staged.
Also, an analysis of the images of the lunar surface taken during the expedition shows that the distance to the background objects is really great, which is impossible with combined filming in the pavilion.
Other theories
There is also a "counter-theory" that the US special services, in order to preserve more important secrets about the detection of an alien presence on the moon and in space, provoked an alleged "leak" of misinformation about the staging of the flights that actually took place, for which they specially exhibited a photo. video and other materials testifying in favor of “falsification”.
The statements of astronauts about their encounters with UFOs during a flight to the moon and statements of ufologists about secret structures and bases-cities of aliens on the moon are given.