In 2001, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin was at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California, when he punched a man in the face. Now, one would think that the famous astronaut, currently 91 years old, would be a calm and humble man. But, when faced with Bart Sibrel- a filmmaker and avid conspiracy theorist- calling his historic achievement of walking on the moon a hoax, he lost his cool. Understandably so, it is hard to hear a person dismiss your greatest life achievement, calling you a “liar, coward and [a] thief.” So, who are these moon conspiracy theorists? Vice Media created a YouTube video where they interviewed three moon hoax conspiracy theorists, one of whom being Bart Sibrel, about their viewpoints on the moon landing and how the American public was deceived. Most of the claims these conspiracy theorists make are not backed up by hard evidence and are misleading.

“The camera was being used in a studio, here, on earth, under controlled conditions, taking PR images for use by NASA to promote their program” (3:45 – 3:55) 

Marcus Allen, one of the esteemed “experts” in this video makes this claim with the context that the Apollo 11 Astronauts, instead of going to the moon, used photoshoots and elaborate filmmaking to achieve the illusion of the moon landing. Though, when looking at all sides of the debate it is easy to see how someone could believe that the moon landing was faked when the photos of the various training exercises looked so realistic with the real space gear and true-to-life spaceship props. The one thing to consider though is why would NASA create the Saturn V if it were fake. There are many displays of the Saturn V rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the 363-foot-tall rocket could be found. This rocket was the most powerful aircraft ever made until 2007. It was 33 feet in diameter and could propel a 120-ton payload into the atmosphere. According to Boeing, the manufacturers of the rocket, the “assembled vehicle was so heavy that when it was rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral, Florida, it pulverized the special gravel roadbed designed to accept its weight” (Historical Snapshot). What would the point be to make a rocket of that capacity without using it? There is concrete, real evidence that it exists, and it was used because it is displayed at multiple space centers. As many conspiracy debunkers say, it is harder to fake going to the moon than actually going.

“The only time in history where the technological accomplishment cannot be repeated by any nation on earth fifty years later” (2:09 – 2:16)

In the video, Bart Sibrel, a well-known figure in the moon-truther community makes the claim that no one in the world has been to the moon since the United States has roughly 50 years ago. They make the comparison that it is like the Wright Brothers achieving flight, and it was not done again for 50 years. Though the invention of the airplane and the Apollo 11 moon landing both propelled the world technologically, the Wright Brothers’ airplane was exponentially cheaper. According to Orville Wright himself, “inventing the airplane cost about $1,000” or when adjusted for inflation, $30,100 in today’s money (Wilbur and Orville). Conversely, the Apollo 11 project altogether cost “was about $25.4 billion, about $152 billion in today’s dollars.” It is easy to see why we have not scheduled another lunar excursion since. The cost is much too great to go back, and there are other projects that would yield greater results than going to the moon. An example of this is the International Space Station or the ISS. NASA and other space programs have been conducting research and experiments on the ISS for over 2 decades, with astronauts being on what they call “expeditions” for around 6 months at a time. Though, there have been efforts to go back to the moon by private companies such as SpaceX for lunar vacations.

Our experts, Marcus Allen, Bart Sibrel, and Randy Walsh

Marcus Allen, Bart Sibrel, and Randy Walsh all have histories of being avid moon conspiracy theorists. Marcus Allen and Randy Walsh both have less documented appearances within the moon-truther community. Marcus Allen, an elderly UK photographer has been active in denying the moon landing for decades. He was a publisher of an alternative news magazine called Nexus, which was published in over 100 countries and multiple languages. Allen has been documented in multiple UK based newspapers denying the moon landing, even going as far as to challenge NASA itself to prove that the landings happened. On the other hand, Randy Walsh, a retired Canadian flight instructor and hobbyist author had believed in the moon landings until he learned about some aspects of the flight that clashed with his aviation knowledge. From there, he did years of research that culminated into his book, The Apollo Missions: Hiding a Hoax in Plain Sight – Part 1. Since his skepticism in the moon landing, he has been a member of the moon hoax community, making appearances at conventions and other gatherings. Finally, Bart Sibrel is an American Filmmaker is arguably the most accomplished among the other experts, having made 4 documentaries in the early 2000s to debunk the moon landing. He also well-known for what is called by some as the Aldrin Incident mentioned previously, where Sibrel was found to be shoving a Bible in Buzz Aldrin’s face, and paying the price. Suffice it to say that the experts in the video are avid within their community of moon-truthers, but to say that they are true enough experts to speak on the topic is quite a stretch.

“How do you lose 140,000 reels of telemetry tapes?” (4:24 – 4:29)

Randy Walsh, one of the aforementioned “experts” makes a point about how NASA had lost the telemetry data. The underlying claim being that they never existed, and they are being caught in a lie. The camera that was used during the moon walk was special and used “an odd format that was incompatible with the format used for broadcast TV,” and “it had to be converted for the live television broadcast.” In 2006, Stan Lebar and his colleges at Westinghouse Electric Corporation were the ones looking for the tapes. They were initially going to bring them out to see if they could visually enhance the video to preserve the historical value for future generations, but they were nowhere to be found. This unsettling information led to NASA starting a mass search for the tapes, looking at any and all leads. Lebar and his colleges dug through the Washington National Records Center, where they dug through anything that could be linked to the Apollo missions. Eventually, the team had learned that while NASA was working on various satellite projects in the 80s and beyond, it was experiencing a “critical shortage of magnetic tapes. So, NASA started erasing old ones and reusing them,” Lebar, heartbroken at the discovery says that “’It was a hard thing to accept. But there was just an overwhelming amount of evidence that led us to believe that they just don’t exist anymore. And you have to accept reality,’” Of course, the moon-truthers jumped on this opportunity, using it to poke holes in the moon landing.

Since they lost the telemetry data, that is significant proof that it did not happen at all, they say. However, the telemetry data was not the only data to be recorded on the mission. During the three days it took to get to the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts’ conversation was constantly recorded while they talked to each other and mission control. These transcripts are readily available online, and there are over 7 days straight of transcripts, audio, video, and pictures from the mission. It would be irrational to assume that the moon-landing is fake because of the ample proof of the lift-off, the travel to the moon, and the actual landing through the constant recording of their conversation and activities.

“The only proof you need- to prove that the moon landings are fake- is that one picture where the astronaut’s shadow is at 12 o’clock, and a shadow of a rock 5 feet away is going at 9 o’clock.” (3:28 – 3:41)

This claim is one of the only hard claims that most moon-truthers cling to. At first glance it makes sense. Why would the shadows be going at different angles if there is only one major source of light? Becky Little from History explains this, saying that “although the sun is the main source of illumination on the moon, it isn’t the only source of illumination. Another source is the lunar ground, which reflects the sun’s light.” Fienberg, an expert cited in Little’s article continues “the sunlight is being scattered or reflected off the ground every which way, and some of it—a small fraction but enough to be able to see—scatters into the shadows.” This information makes sense, people have been taught at a young age that the reason why the moon shines is because it reflects the sun’s light. This would not be any different on the moon itself, and the astronauts got to see this wonderful phenomenon for themselves.

“Another argument to defend the fraud is that the couple of hundred thousand people involved as contractors and employees of the space industry couldn’t keep a secret” (3:28 – 3:41)

Bart Sibrel contradicts himself in this bold claim. To give context, he made a rebuttal to this claim- which is typically used to debunk the conspiracy- saying that most people did not know it was faked and continued to do their jobs. But when looking at the data, it is easy to see that this project was no easy feat, and it was not faked. The fact that “[m]ore than 410,000 Americans worked on Apollo, on behalf of 20,000 companies.” working specialized roles towards the engineering, building, and logistics of the project shows that it is impossible to fake this. If it were to be faked, an exponentially smaller amount of people would be needed to work on the project. Another valid point to consider is: “how can you feel that 400,000 people would keep their mouths shut for 50 years? It’s just implausible.” Besides, the Space Race happened solely because the United States needed to compete with the Soviet Union with space technological innovation. Therefore, if the United States had faked the moon landing, the Soviet Union would be quick to let the world know. It was real enough to the communist powers of the world- the U.S.S.R, China, and North Korea- that their governing officials did not let the public see the footage.

Conclusion

Like you were taught in school, the moon landing truly happened. There is no conspiracy, no secret agenda, no secrecy. It was an honest achievement made by the hundreds of thousands of people who helped with the project- not just the astronauts who made the first steps. While the conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork to instill doubt and false claims to anyone who will listen, the educated know to not give it a second thought. There are many pieces of evidence that point toward the reality of the landing, such as real pictures, the rockets that can still be found today, or even asking an elderly relative who might have seen it on TV. The moon landing was an astounding accomplishment for humanity. We took one step forward, leaping toward the future.

Image taken from the video