Russian scientist debunks US moon landing conspiracy theories

Russian scientists verified the authenticity of a lunar soil sample received from the United States, confirming it matches lunar soil, discrediting the conspiracy theories, as stated by Russian federal space agency Roscosmos‘s CEO Yury Borisov.
Borisov shared this information in response to a question about the US Moon landings, reported Russian news agency Interfax.The verification stems from an agreement signed in 1971 between the Soviet Academy of Sciences and Nasa, which included exchanging lunar soil samples. The samples were delivered to Earth by the Soviet Luna 16 uncrewed mission and the US Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions.
“As for whether Americans were on the Moon or not, I have only one fact. I looked into this matter. They once gave us a sample of the lunar soil delivered by the astronauts during that expedition. An examination by our Academy of Sciences confirmed that it is exactly lunar soil,” Yury Borisov said in the State Duma.
Many conspiracy theorists over time have claimed that moan landing was a hoax.
Meanwhile, apart from US few other countries have also successfully retrieved samples from the moon. CGTN television announced on June 25 that China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module had successfully delivered lunar soil samples from the Moon’s far side for the first time in history.
Roscosmos deputy director for International Cooperation Sergei Savelyev stated on May 28 that Russia and China had established a joint center for sharing lunar research data. This center will coordinate the Luna 26 mission in 2027 and China’s Chang’e-7 mission. Subsequent lunar missions Luna 27 and Luna 28 are slated for 2028 and 2030 or later, respectively.
Russia’s first modern lunar mission began on August 11, 2023, with the launch of Luna 25 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was scheduled to make a soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole on August 21. However, the spacecraft crashed on the Moon on August 19.
India is planning Chandrayaan-4 mission aimed to get a lunar sample and build on the success of its predecessors. This mission will involve landing on the moon, collecting samples, and bringing them back to Earth for comprehensive analysis, enhancing our understanding of the moon’s composition and history.