Starfield Players’ Latest Discovery Revives the Age-Old Conspiracy Theory: Was the Moon Landing a Hoax?
It may have taken nearly a year to reach there, but Bethesda’s space-action RPG Starfield is finally hitting the mark. While that sentiment is quite divided due to the remnants of the community bashing Starfield, it can’t be denied that the title has come a long way since its September 6th, 2023 launch. It’s in a much better place thanks to the load of updates it has received over the last year.
Although a classic RPG at its core, Starfield has stepped into unknown territory for the studio by introducing aspects of the space exploration genre. Apart from completing quests and leveling characters, you can travel to planets on your ships. However, one of these exploration trips by a player has reignited the controversy surrounding NASA’s Moon landing in 1969.
Starfield Discovery Revives Moon-Landing Conspiracies
Starfield is set in the 24th century, so much of the game’s history is our modern day. That means you can come across rovers currently scouring Mars, as well as our own recent history, such as the mark we left on the Moon when we set foot on its surface about 54 years ago.
When you make it to The Lodge in the game’s main quest, you can poke into your fellow Constellation members’ privacy by looting their rooms. In Matteo Khatri’s room, you can come across Livingstone’s Second Journal, which provides you with the quest that leads you to Apollo 11 landing marks on the Moon.
As seen in a post on the game’s official subreddit, you can find the remnants of the Eagle, as well as the American flag, standing tall even after the Earth has fallen. What’s so special about the flag is that it moves, proving that the Moon landing was fake, according to some theorists.
If you’re out of the loop, a few conspiracy claims suggest that NASA faked the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing partly because the U.S. flag was moving in some footage. Conspiracists suggest that since there’s no atmosphere on the Moon, the flag should’ve never moved, suggesting it was filmed on Earth. After looking at Starfield‘s flag physics, few gamers believe the conspiracists were right.
However, the fact was that in real life, the U.S. flag was designed with a horizontal rod at the top to appear as if it was flying. So, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin planted it, the motion caused ripples, giving the illusion of movement even though it had settled. Since there wasn’t any atmosphere, the flag was prevented from moving naturally.
While it’s great to see Starfield players coming together to uncover the truth behind such events, scientific evidence confirms that the Moon landing was, in fact, genuine and not a hoax.
Starfield‘s Upcoming Expansion Could Change Everything We Know
As we’ve already mentioned, it’s been a year since the release of Starfield. Bethesda is currently stoking the flames to generate hype for the upcoming Shattered Space expansion, which is set to introduce new worlds, enemies, weapons, items, and much more. The company has high hopes for the franchise and will include more content in the future.
With Shattered Space DLC, Todd Howard and his team have the opportunity to redeem themselves for the failures of the base game. It lacked a strong creative vision and engaging narrative, with some believing it failed to innovate based on the company’s established formula.
Let’s hope Bethesda has finally learned its lesson and brings us an expansion that shatters all expectations. This is crucial, considering the DLC’s reception will directly impact how developers approach the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls 6.
With that said, are you excited to play the Starfield expansion? If so, let us know in the comments below.
