# Help me defend the Moon landing! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473 "2014-09-14T13:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473/102 "2016-01-03T23:31:02Z")
I’ve never been impressed by the ‘Mirrors on the moon that can reflect Lasers!’. That’s of no use to a sceptic. When Mythbusters did it, they looked at a computer screen, saw a display that looked like a WW2 radar image and said ‘Well, we’re convinced!’. You need a multi-million dollar laser. When it hits the moon, the beam from the laser is 6.5 KMs wide. Only 1 out of 10^17 photons is received back on earth. Of course it is real, but it’s so far outside the understanding of most non-scientists as to be almost meaningless. You cannot see a light spot reflecting from the moon. > **[Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Point_Observatory_Lunar_Laser-ranging_Operation)** > > The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation, or APOLLO, is a project at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. It is an extension and advancement of previous Lunar Laser Ranging experiments, which use retroreflectors on the Moon to track changes in lunar orbital distance and motion. > Using telescopes on Earth, the reflectors on the Moon, and accurate timing of laser pulses, scientists were able to measure and predict the orbit of the Moon to a precision of a few centimeters b... Oh, and for all the Apollo-ites out there, just to waste many hours of your valuable time - (well, I did) have a look at this… [Apollo 17](http://apollo17.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473/103 "2016-01-04T07:19:32Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > He didn’t really go into specifics, it was pretty much, “Trust me, I’m an engineer”. But he did mention, as davidm brings up below, that the computing power for a moon landing wasn’t available, thats one thing that did stick out for me. Silly him. That always raises a logical dead end: Do I trust him or an engineer who doesn’t think the moon landing was a hoax–like [this one](http://www.braeunig.us/space/hoax.htm). This looks like a good site that goes over a lot of the CTer’s points, including computer capability. If you ever get him to read it, I’d sure like to hear his reaction. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473/104 "2016-01-04T08:09:59Z")
“Trust me, I’m an engineer”. Really? What about the thousands of engineers on planet Earth in the 60s and 70s? I don’t recall one, connected to NASA or not; US, Soviet, Chinese, or whatever; who said “wait… this is ridiculous, we don’t have the technology to do this”. If it’s so obvious to your friend that we didn’t have the necessary technology at the time, how much more obvious would it have been to the engineers then? ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473/105 "2016-01-04T14:30:04Z")
The problem is the ability to fake the moon landing was more impossible than landing on the moon. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU) ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473/106 "2016-01-04T14:53:38Z")
It is impossible to calculate the size of the earth without a spaceship and a super computer… The idea that the Greeks did it in 250 BC is just a conspiracy to disprove the turtles all the way down theory. > **[SuperBeefy.com](https://superbeefy.com/)** > > Former domain of a blog covering random news and facts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-defend-the-moon-landing/698473.md?page=5)