Posted on 11/07/2002 1:36:35 PM PST by GeneD
For years there have been rumours that the Apollo lunar landings were faked, staged on a movie set to convince the world that the US had beaten the Soviets to the Moon.
And, despite evidence to the contrary, the belief that the "one small step for man" was a sham continues to spread.
Now, having tried to stay above the rumours, the US space agency (Nasa) has finally got fed up with the conspiracy theorists and asked James Oberg, a leading aerospace writer, to produce a book that it hopes will settle the issue.
But will it work, or will it just add a certain credibility to the hoax theory?
Flags that ripple on the airless Moon, discrepancies in the part numbers of lunar lander components, shadows that point in the wrong direction, the lack of stars seen in the sky - these are all "facts" that have fuelled the conspiracy theory.
It is claimed that the six Apollo landings took place in a hangar on a secret military base.
Over the years, every one of the lines of evidence has been discredited but the rumours refuse to go away.
In September, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, punched a man in the face after he had confronted the former astronaut at a Beverly Hills hotel.
Bart Sibrel - who has made a film questioning the Apollo Moon missions - had demanded that Mr Aldrin, 72, swear on the Bible that he had in fact walked on the Moon.
Prosecutors declined to file assault charges against Mr Aldrin.
Truth out there
Tackling the conspiracy theory head-on in an official book was the idea of Nasa's former chief historian Roger Launius.
He says that hardcore conspiracy theorists are not the book's main audience, as they will never be convinced of the truth.
Instead, it will be aimed at the general public and especially teachers, giving them the science to answer questions in class.
Doubters will no doubt dismiss the new book as just another attempt by the establishment to cover up the truth.
Nasa says the rippling flag is easily explained by the fact that the astronauts twisted it as they planted it in the soil.
The stars are not visible in the lunar sky because of the bright landscape and the light from the Earth drowning them out.
In a few years a definite answer could be possible.
A private company, Transorbital, will place a private high-resolution satellite into orbit around the Moon. It should have the power to see the Apollo hardware left on the surface.
And another freeper was right as well. Though mineral rich and ripe for mining- it is simply not economically feasible to exploit the moon currently. It currently costs about $10,000 to put one pound of payload in space. The amount of equipment, material, supply, and fuel needed to even put a small base on the moon capable of supporting 3 people full time is just not viable economically.
But as research into certain carbon compounds that are a tenth the weight of the strongest steels and metals and hundreds of times stronger continues - perhaps one day we will be able to design spacecraft the size of football stadiums that weigh as much as just one space shuttle- and the cost of putting substantial amounts of men and material into space will drop to economically viable levels.
Yeah, and they're still teaching that in the Islamic Madrasses. LOL!
Photographic Analysis - realplayer
... or so Hormel would have us believe.
I don't think the Hubble can resolve objects that small at that distance. However, I understand that the new four mirror scope in the Chilean Andes can. But, observing time and access being what it is, and having no real scientific reason to do it, I'm not holding my breath waiting for these conclusive photos. Most of us believe that we went there anyway, its just the "Face of Mars" crowd that doubts it. I doubt pictures from earth would satisfy them anyway.
Even Hoagland, who popularized the Face, has no patience with those who doubt the moon landings.
It does if you are using a computer. Especially a laptop or PDA.
The Moon shot made miniaturization mandatory. Otherwise Freepers would need to add onto their homes to house their 500Hrtz/10kb computers.
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