Was Apollo 11 Made-up?

The human race and science consider man's landing on the Moon as one of the most significant landmarks in the history. The scientific community all over the world acclaimed and adored the United States of America that spearheaded this striving project. This space-project titled, the Apollo Series has left no trace of doubt, as it was conceived perfectly.

NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Administration) of America, that pioneered the programme made the world believe that on 1969, July 20, Apollo 11 manned by Neil A Armstrong, Edwin E Aldrin Jr. and Michael Collins succeeded in landing on the Moon. Armstrong on stepping down on the moon's surface said thus, "That's one small step for (a) man, one great leap for mankind." He reported sinking about 3 mm into the fine, powdery surface material. Aldrin joined Armstrong, and together they spent some two hours taking photographs, collecting about 21.7 Kilograms of lunar soil, planting an American flag, and deploying a solar-wind experiment, a seismic experiment package, and a laser-beam reflecting device. They were seen on Earth television through a camera erected some distance from the Lunar Module.

The astronauts made their lunar ascent stage takeoff on July 21, concluding a total lunar stay time of 21 hours 36 minutes. Transferring to the Command Module, they re-landed on Earth in the Pacific on July 24. Because of possible contamination by organisms with unknown effect upon terrestrial life, decontamination and quarantine were employed.


Doubtful, says a few

However, all the whole events that undermine this scientific achievement are remaining mysterious at least to a few. There have been doubts pertaining to the mission and the NASA refuted the same all from time to time. Recently Ralph Rene in his book titled, 'NASA Mooned America' came out with accusations that questioned the authenticity of the Apollo project.

'Outlook' Magazine in its July 15th issue (Vol. XLII, No.27) has info-graphed the areas of controversies put forward by Rene, along with the clarifications of NASA. The 'suspicious events' are depicted in a pictorial format that commands enhanced reader-focus. 12 such allegations with substantive counter-versions of NASA are listed out in a magnificent spread-format.

Jaikumar Sharma who presents the debate strikes a brief introductory note, which begins with a question that makes many frown. The question reads thus - Did Man Really Set-Foot on the Moon. He continues with the logic that the reticence of the Moon astronauts and Netsceptics have only served to heighten suspicions. Other questions raised in this context by Sharma are - (a) Did NASA really succeed, or did it stage a studio trick in the deserts of Nevada to hoodwink the Soviet Union that it had won the race? (b) If it was possible to land the lunar module with a computer, which had as much power as a pocket calculator today, why hasn't the world seen more missions, given the advanced technology available?


Arguments, Counter-arguments

The areas that are subjected to debate centre on certain vital issues that were highlighted by NASA. The first one is regarding the temperature. It is an acclaimed fact that the temperature on the Moon's surface varies considerably in the shady and non-shady areas. The shady areas are believed to have a temperature of -40 degree Celsius, while that in the non-shady areas; it mounts to around 130 degree Celsius. NASA had produced photographs of the moon's surface. It is practically not possible to take pictures in environments where there are temperature variances. The photographic films would either be melted or swapped. In addition, the visors fitted on the faces of the astronauts would also crack out of this. NASA counters this with the argument that the space suits were water-cooled and were made using aerosol spray techniques, leaving aside all possibilities of such maladies. 

The next point of debate is regarding the landscape of the Moon. Pictures of the Moon landscape depict them to darken towards infinity. The criticizers hold the view that this would happen on Earth only. This cannot happen on the Moon, which does not have an atmosphere. To this NASA opines that the exposures were set to work with the brightly lit surface and astronauts only.

The subsequent doubt pertains to the fluttering of the American flag. As the Moon does not have an atmosphere or wind, it is impossible for the flag to flutter. NASA dismisses this with the argument that the flag had a horizontal bar attached to it at the top. Astronauts twisted the pole back and forth in order to stick it into the ground. This movement made the attached bar and flag to flutter.

Now comes the doubt about shadows, wherein many photos of the Moon show unparallel shadows. This also appears fictitious as the only source of light in Moon also is the Sun, suggesting a much closer light source. In addition, some photos show two light sources. In fact, all photos look like as if they were taken in the dark using very bright spotlights. The NASA's version in this regard is that if additional lighting sources were employed, why not multiple shadows do is visible in every object. The next doubt concentrates around stars. There are no stars present in the photos released by NASA. Stars are not visible on Earth during daytime because sunlight is scattered by particles in the atmosphere. However there is no atmosphere on the Moon and hence stars must naturally be seen during day. However, NASA counters this by stating that the light of the Sun was so strong that it overpowered the light of the stars. 

Various doubts relating to the angle of the sun, nature of rocks, manner of the foot prints, presence of dust, multiple reflections on the visors, no crater-disturbance beneath the lunar module, gravitational complexities are some other anomalies put forward for debate by Sharma. But the clarifications are strong enough to counter all the negative arguments.
In this context, a very important point to be remembered is that the Apollo 11 was not the single project undertaken by NASA. Six further space expeditions were also carried out, after the three returned to their home destinations. Of these, five missions were successful. The astronauts on board the Apollo 13, launched on April 11, 1970, failed to complete its lunar landing mission owing to an explosion in the Service Module that damaged the main power supple and cut off the chief source of oxygen for the crew. Emergency procedures were quickly devised, which is considered to the classic rescue operation ever conducted in the World. The crew used the Lunar Module as a 'life boat' until just before the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.


No Chance for Manipulations

While the next in the series, Apollo14 succeeded in landing on the Moon, Apollo 15 launched in the same year advanced a step further. The astronauts succeeded in driving a four-wheeled, battery-powered Lunar Roving Vehicle on the Moon's surface. The last mission to the Moon titled, Apollo 17 was launched on December 7, 1972. It broke previous record of lunar exploration time, distance traveled, and quantity of lunar samples returned. Thus, it becomes apparent that if it was for a single instance, the arguments may have fetched some positive grounds. Nevertheless, as the project spread for years, and as it was a period when the Soviet Union was equally powerful and vigilant, very little chance is left for America to put forth stage-tricks. 


S Gopakumar  


(Courtesy:'Outlook' Magazine,15th July 2002, Vol.XLII, No.27)

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