5 of the Craziest Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories & Why People Believed Them
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong landed NASA’s Apollo 11 on the moon. Though televised live for the world to see, some people (about 6 percent of Americans, according to a 1999 Gallup poll) believe that this feat never occurred. So what do these conspirators believe happened instead, and why? Here are a few hypotheses.
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The U.S. Faked the Landing to Beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race
The Cold War was a period of political and military tension that lasted many years and underwent many phases without any actual combat. The Space Race was an intellectual facet of this feud as both nations were competing for scientific advancement in sending the first human beings to the moon; the Soviet Union was slightly ahead of the United States for years as they completed many firsts in this quest, including the first spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface, the Luna 2. Conspiracy theorists claim that the U.S. faked the Apollo 11 manned landing as they knew they couldn’t actually beat the Soviets, so they must have cheated instead.
It Was Filmed in a Secret Hollywood Studio With Help From Stanley Kubrick
One of the most popular lunar conspiracy theories is that NASA used a secret Hollywood film studio to shoot a faked landing, using a painted backdrop to depict space and wire and harnesses to “land” the spacecraft and astronauts on the surface. Some of these conspiracy theorists speculate the scene was scripted by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick as these two worked together on Kubrick’s film (based on Clarke’s book) 2001: A Space Odyssey, and that NASA used this film as inspiration for their plan. In Room 237, a movie about all the possible explanations of Kubrick’s film The Shining, an Apollo 11 conspiracy theorist claims Kubrick made The Shining to admit to his involvement with the faked landing using subliminal and thematic imagery, especially in the scene where Danny, wearing an Apollo 11 sweater, meanders into the Overlook Hotel’s Room 237 to greet the eerie woman in the tub.
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Photographic “Proof”
Looking at film and photographs from the Apollo 11 mission, the evidence conspiracists use to further their theories include a lack of stars in the perceived space, the nonsensical waving of the American flag on a windless Moon, and a visible “C” on a rock which theorists claim is a studio prop. Experts respond to this criticism saying light pollution from the Sun dilutes the appearance of stars, that the flag is still and only appears to be moving because it is wrinkled, and that the “C” is a distortion of the photograph itself, possibly a hair that obfuscated the print.
A Dangerous Environment and Unwilling Circumstances
Theorists also point to the natural characteristics of our atmosphere and the moon as reasons why the landing could not have happened. This includes radiation from the Van Allen Belts around Earth that would poison the astronauts and that footprints from a spacesuit shouldn’t be seen on the moon because of the lack of moisture. Experts on the matter, as well as an episode of Mythbusters, rebuke these claims with science too.
Whatever You Believe, Don’t Bring It Up With Buzz Aldrin
In 2002, Bart Sibrel, a filmmaker and Apollo 11 conspiracy theorist, aggressively confronted Buzz Aldrin about his time on the moon. After repeatedly asking the astronaut to “swear on the Bible that [Aldrin] walked on the Moon,” then calling Aldrin “a coward, and a liar, and a thief,” Aldrin struck Sibrel in the face. No one was hurt, and claiming self-defense for himself and his stepdaughter, no charges were filed.
Related: Happy Birthday, Buzz Aldrin! 13 of His Most Iconic Apollo 11 Photos
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