# The Apollo Moon Missions Were Faked in a Studio **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949 "2013-03-25T21:15:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/121 "2013-03-26T16:56:26Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > What is the usual policy in these situations? Disengage. You can’t logic someone out of a position that they haven’t logic’d themselves into. But on a wider scale, I think it’s indicative of a subpar elementary education in science literacy and critical thinking. If we can raise a generation of teenagers who are able to sift through the logical fallacies and handwaving, we could see a reduction, not just in CTs but in the prevalence of homeopathy, anti-vaxxers and creationists. Kids on some level want to know and develop these skills. Have you ever seen a toddler playing with something like an iPad or a wii for the first time? It’s a slightly breathtaking application of the scientific method. Press a button. Observe response. Modify behavior. Observe response. Continue until some level of mastery is acquired. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/122 "2013-03-26T17:03:36Z")
> [@Cosmored](#): > > I made a collection of some of the hoax evidence the government is trying to bury. The good thing is that such a collection takes up very little room. On the downside, the resale value is nil. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/123 "2013-03-26T17:05:28Z")
Their approach is simple: Take a position, and only accept evidence that confirms the position. If evidence points in more than one direction, deny all possibilities for the evidence except for the one that supports your position. Using this method it is possible to prove that a wooden box is actually a wooden ball of the same size. They are both made of wood, they have the same weight, they are both hollow inside, they hold the same volume etc. The fact that one is cubical and the other is spherical is only one piece of evidence that can easily be overlooked, because there are _mountains_ of evidence that show they are the same, right? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/124 "2013-03-26T17:08:18Z")
> [@Cosmored](#): > > Sorry I didn’t stick around to do any followup posting; the cybercafe I was in closed half an hour early unexpectedly. > > I see that almost all of the posts are empty ad hominems. No, YOU’RE an empty ad hominem. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/125 "2013-03-26T17:10:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Your logic doesn’t follow. Just because we’ve discovered a place does not mean that people will want to live there. > > Delaware is my cite. OMG, I have tears in my eyes from LOLing so hard. TYVM 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/126 "2013-03-26T17:25:46Z")
Didn’t the OP see the Mythbusters episode where they proved we left stuff behind on the moon? Or are the Mythbusters in on the conspiracy too? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/127 "2013-03-26T17:27:41Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > . . . The interesting/sad thing is that the moon flags are completely white now. 40 years of UV light have blanched them. It’s a giant signal to the moon men that we’ve decided to pre-emptively surrender. I’ve never heard that. Are there pictures online? Because that’s interesting. > [@Gagundathar](#): > > . . . And, I see from the OP that our new best friend as already inoculated himself against those facts. > > Hmmmm… > > What is the usual policy in these situations? Point and laugh. It doesn’t accomplish much, but it’s policy and, you know, what would accomplish anything? ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/128 "2013-03-26T17:53:48Z")
And you know, the government may kill OJ Simpson to cover it up, and the government may kill Sam Waterstone to cover it up, but thanks to the help of Telly Savalas, James Brolin will get away and call you out on your misdeeds there Mr. Government man. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/129 "2013-03-26T17:58:27Z")
At least this thread gave me the information about the UV bleaching of the US flags on Luna. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/130 "2013-03-26T18:05:40Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > At least this thread gave me the information about the UV bleaching of the US flags on Luna. I have yet to see verification of that. I’m pretty sure UV protection of the flags would have been thought of by the group responsible for providing such. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/131 "2013-03-26T18:09:06Z")
> [@TommyTutone](#): > > And you know, the government may kill OJ Simpson to cover it up, and the government may kill Sam Waterstone to cover it up, but thanks to the help of Telly Savalas, James Brolin will get away and call you out on your misdeeds there Mr. Government man. Pervert. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/132 "2013-03-26T18:10:01Z")
Still, it is an interesting conjecture. I imagine direct photographic evidence would be unfeasible. The resolution of the LRO won’t allow for such details to be visible. The idea of a purely monochromatic flag with no sigil at all is rather interesting. Usually, it means “we surrender,” but not in this case. Unless, of course, it is a symbol of our retreat from the frontier. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/133 "2013-03-26T18:31:44Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’ve never heard that. Are there pictures online? Because that’s interesting. No pics, but it’s a virtual certainty. Here’s a NASA [site](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ApolloFlags-Condition.html) with discussion. Flags on Earth fade after 40 years, and that’s with the atmosphere shielding us from a fair amount of UV light. There’s less UV protection on the moon. And much less protection from temperature swings and such. At least we know they’re still standing. That’s actually pretty surprising after 40 years. Though, they’re probably not in good condition. They’re expected to be in tatters and to completely fall apart soon, if they haven’t already. They were off the shelf flags - not special mission flags - and not designed for all the UV or the swings from -300F to +250F or any of the other adverse conditions on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/134 "2013-03-26T18:41:55Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > They were off the shelf flags - not special mission flags - and not designed for all the UV or the swings from -300F to +250F or any of the other adverse conditions on the moon. That’s quite surprising to me. For all the rest of the costs involved, I would have thought that coughing up some extra bucks for flags that could withstand the environment would be a no-brainer. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/135 "2013-03-26T18:45:47Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Still, it is an interesting conjecture. > I imagine direct photographic evidence would be unfeasible. [NASA doesn’t think there’s much left of them:](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ApolloFlags-Condition.html) > [@NASA](#): > > “Bleached”, “disintegrated”, “ashes”, “rough shape”, and “tattered”. Intuitively, experts mostly think it highly unlikely the Apollo flags (See Platoff’s article Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon for details), could have endured the 42 years of exposure to vacuum, about 500 temperature swings from 242 F during the day to -280 F during the night, micrometeorites, radiation and ultraviolet light, some thinking the flags have all but disintegrated under such an assault of the environment. Whoops, got beat to the punch! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/136 "2013-03-26T18:54:36Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > For all the rest of the costs involved, I would have thought that coughing up some extra bucks for flags that could withstand the environment would be a no-brainer. Then William Proxmire would have plucked that out of the budget, and without context or explanation, proclaimed “NASA has wasted $900 of your tax money on flags!” ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/137 "2013-03-26T18:59:12Z")
> [@Cosmored](#): > > Sorry I didn’t stick around to do any followup posting; the cybercafe I was in closed half an hour early unexpectedly. > > I see that almost all of the posts are empty ad hominems. > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad\_hominem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem) > > There were only a few which addressed the actual issues. > > This issue was addressed > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymwE1sNm82Y](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymwE1sNm82Y) > (2:35 time mark) > Anyone can exactly duplicate the movement of the flag here on earth by trotting by it at about a forty five degree angle. > > We know he didn’t touch the flag because it started moving before he got close enough to touch it as these two analyses show. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9qcL4LiUg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9qcL4LiUg) > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFMpmjEv9o0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFMpmjEv9o0) > > This doesn’t make the proof of a hoax go away. There are lots of plausible scenarios that would explain this. > > Countries can have secret agreements. > Governments can be bribed and blackmailed. > There may have been an unmanned lander on the moon sending prerecorded dialogue. > > MythBusters’ lame attempt to obfuscate the anomalies has been debunked. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7yc2rVOs00](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7yc2rVOs00) > [http://www.aulis.com/mythbusters.htm](http://www.aulis.com/mythbusters.htm) > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ajIVmGiQE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ajIVmGiQE) > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23BIb\_PMJ4M](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23BIb_PMJ4M) > > The Clavius site which defends Apollo is obviously a government attempt at damage-control. > [http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125628](http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125628) > [http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=8940846&postcount=5](http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=8940846&postcount=5) > > Instead of all this empty rhetoric, let’s hear some actual analyses of the anomalies. All this bullshit you foolishly spew has been DISPELLED INSTANTLY by the LRO a few years ago. Many Hoaxers were convinced when they saw what the LRO produced, which in turn, sifted the ignorant Hoaxers from the INSANE Hoaxers who can’t let go due to their mental illness. I don’t know whether to pony-up for your first psych visit or towards a one-way trip for you to one of the landing sites. But one thing I do know is… [**SUCK IT AGAIN, BITCH.**](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cosmored](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@Cosmored](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmored)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/138 "2013-03-26T19:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, plus the tens of thousands of scientists and engineers who developed the Apollo/Saturn system and supported the missions including the emergency recovery of Apollo XIII. To have created a convincing fake sufficient to fool all of these technical people would have required a sizable group of people with similar knowledge I addressed that in post #1. > [@](#): > > ## [http://theconspiracyzone.podcastpeople.com/posts/28159](http://theconspiracyzone.podcastpeople.com/posts/28159) (excerpts) > > Q: Why do prominent astronomers like Sir Bernard Lovell and Patrick Moore support the Moon landings if they were faked? > > ## A: Scientists and astronomers around the globe know full well that the Moon missions were faked, but rely on NASA to gain access to the vital data beamed back to Earth from the Hubble space telescope. They cannot slag off NASA otherwise NASA would deprive them of this essential information, which they so much require. > > Q: What about the vast number of people involved in Apollo, wouldn’t someone have spoken out. > > ## A: Pan’s claim there were half a million people involved in the Apollo program, but that includes all the humble engineers working on machine parts in many companies around the globe. So if someone is making a part in some engineering factory in Seattle, and his boss tells him it’s for the Apollo spacecraft, is that engineer proof the landings took place? No of course it is not proof, and even if that engineer knew they never made it to the Moon, he would still brag to his friends that he made a part that went to the Moon just to make him feel proud in some way or other. Parts for the Apollo program were made at many different factories around the globe. For example the laser reflector supposedly left on the Moon was manufactured in France. NASA collected the unit from the French company, and that was the last they saw of it. It’s probably stashed away in some archive at Langley, but one things for certain it’s not on the Moon. Are those French engineers proof they landed on the Moon? No of course not, as very few, (probably less than 200 people), were actually involved in bringing the whole lot together, so as to minimize what was actually taking place. No need for any of them to speak out because (A) They are 100% patriotic to the USA, and would say nothing that would go against America, even if it were true. (B) They do not need millions of dollars to safeguard their future, as they have already received substantial amounts from NASA just to “keep mum”. Read comments from people who worked on the Apollo program in the APOLLO FEEDBACK section. > [@](#): > > which begs the question of not only where all of these people are now and how is it that not one of them has presented evidence or a deathbed confession, If there were a deathbed confession, the press wouldn’t report it as it’s controlled. This post is from another forum. I dealt with this issue there. [http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144487&page=37&p=4731597&viewfull=1#post4731597](http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144487&page=37&p=4731597&viewfull=1#post4731597) > [@](#): > > but what would be the impetus for this supposed fraud to begin with? ## I dealt with all of this in post #1. Here’s an explanation. [http://www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm](http://www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm) (excerpt) ## Motives Several motives have been suggested for the U.S. government to fake the moon landings - some of the recurrent elements are: Distraction - The U.S. government benefited from a popular distraction to take attention away from the Vietnam war. Lunar activities did abruptly stop, with planned missions cancelled, around the same time that the US ceased its involvement in the Vietnam War. Cold War Prestige - The U.S. government considered it vital that the U.S. win the space race with the USSR. Going to the Moon, if it was possible, would have been risky and expensive. It would have been much easier to fake the landing, thereby ensuring success. Money - NASA raised approximately 30 billion dollars pretending to go to the moon. This could have been used to pay off a large number of people, providing significant motivation for complicity. In variations of this theory, the space industry is characterized as a political economy, much like the military industrial complex, creating fertile ground for its own survival. Risk - The available technology at the time was such that there was a good chance that the landing might fail if genuinely attempted. > [@](#): > > To be caught in such an elaborate lie would have been far more embarrassing for the US than to have simply failed, I dealt with that in post #1. Here it is again. > [@](#): > > People say the Soviets would have snitched. There are explanations for that too: > [http://www.youtube.com/results?search\_type=&search\_query=moonfaker+cold+war&aq=f](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=moonfaker+cold+war&aq=f) > > ## [http://www.nardwuar.com/vs/bill\_kaysing/index.html](http://www.nardwuar.com/vs/bill_kaysing/index.html) (excerpt) > > ## Well, why did they keep faking the Apollo flights, I still don’t understand. Did the Soviet Union know it was faked? Why did they keep shut up if they knew it was faked? 'Cause a lot of people would think they kept the moon race going to prove the U.S. was better than the Soviet Union. If the Soviet Union knew, why did they let the U.S. get away with this? Well, I’ll tell you - at the highest levels there is a coalition between governments. In other words, the Soviets said, if you won’t tell on us - and they faked most of their space exploration flights - we won’t tell on you. It’s as simple as that. See, what Apollo is, is the beginning of the end of the ability of the government to hoodwink and bamboozle and manipulate the people. More and more people are becoming aware in the U.S. that the government is totally and completely public enemy number one. > > ## [http://www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm](http://www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm) (excerpt) > > ## The Soviets, with their own competing moon program and an intense economic and political and military rivalry with the USA, could be expected to have cried foul if the USA tried to fake a Moon landing. Theorist Ralph Rene responds that shortly after the alleged Moon landings, the USA silently started shipping hundreds of thousands of tons of grain as humanitarian aid to the allegedly starving USSR. He views this as evidence of a cover-up, the grain being the price of silence. (The Soviet Union in fact had its own Moon program). > > ## Everyone should read Chomsky’s analysis of the cold war. [http://www3.niu.edu/~td0raf1/history468/apr2304.htm](http://www3.niu.edu/~td0raf1/history468/apr2304.htm) (excerpt) > > ## On the domestic front, the Cold War helped the Soviet Union entrench its military-bureaucratic ruling class in power, and it gave the US a way to compel its population to subsidise high-tech industry. It isn’t easy to sell all that to the domestic populations. The technique used was the old stand-by-fear of a great enemy. > [@](#): > > You know who else has a whole page of links about the moon landing hoax? > > Phil Plait > > I particularly recommend his dissection of the Fox TV moon hoax show. Bad Astronomy is a government damage-control site. There’s some info on that here. [http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125628](http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125628) > [@](#): > > Bad: When the astronauts are assembling the American flag, the flag waves. Kaysing says this must have been from an errant breeze on the set. A flag wouldn’t wave in a vacuum. > > Good: Of course a flag can wave in a vacuum. In the shot of the astronaut and the flag, the astronaut is rotating the pole on which the flag is mounted, trying to get it to stay up. The flag is mounted on one side on the pole, and along the top by another pole that sticks out to the side. In a vacuum or not, when you whip around the vertical pole, the flag will ``wave’', since it is attached at the top. The top will move first, then the cloth will follow along in a wave that moves down. This isn’t air that is moving the flag, it’s the cloth itself. Tell us what made the flag move at the 2:35 time mark of this clip. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gn6MTrin5eU/hqdefault.jpg "Apollo 15 flag, facing air resistance; proving the fraud of alleged manned moon landings.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn6MTrin5eU) ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/139 "2013-03-26T19:05:56Z")
Your (bullshit) points are all moot. Get thee to a psychologist’s office! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949/140 "2013-03-26T19:10:05Z")
> [@Cosmored](#): > > I addressed that in post #1. I feel sorry for you. I really do. ETA: My 14 year old son has better critical thinking abilities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apollo-moon-missions-were-faked-in-a-studio/653949.md?page=8)