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NASA landed the first two men on the moon 51 years ago, after a decade of chasing the Soviet Union in the Cold War space race. America secured victory on July 20, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin successfully landed on the lunar globe. To celebrate the monumental achievement, the astronauts were commissioned by President Richard Nixon to plant an American flag on the moon in honor of every US taxpayer who contributed to the Apollo program.
However, the flag plantation attracted an incredible amount of scrutiny and skepticism in the following years, leading conspiracy theorists to wonder if NASA actually landed on the moon.
One major conspiracy theories denouncing NASA’s findings claims that the US flag flying in the vacuum of space is proof that the moon landing is a hoax.
When Commander Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin planted the American flag, the red and white fabric appears to move as if it were in the wind.
Mr. Aldrin, who was photographed waving the flag on the moon, later said it was the “proudest moment” of his life.
But if there is no atmosphere on the moon, how could the flag fly like that?
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NASA Moon Landing: Why does the US flag appear to be waving in NASA’s footage of the moon landing? (Image: NASA)
NASA Moon Landing: You can see that the flag doesn’t really move when astronauts are (Image: NASA)
This unusual moment, captured by one of the Eagle Lunar Module cameras, has sustained 50 years of lunar conspiracies.
Could this be proof that the moon landing was filmed in a Hollywood studio by Stanley Kubrick?
Or maybe the moon landing was filmed in the middle of nowhere in the deserts of Nevada, in the United States?
Highly unlikely, because there is a key factor that all lunar conspiracies are wrong and that is that the American flag hasn’t really slammed or waved on the moon.
According to the British National Space Center in Leicester, the apparent movements of the flag were caused by the astronauts themselves and not by the wind.
Not all flags need a breeze, at least not in space
The Space Center explained: “The flag was disturbed because it was planted in the ground and kept this curved shape due to the lack of strong gravity on the Moon.
“In the video footage of the flag planted on the surface of the Moon, it also appears to be waving back and forth.
“This is because when astronauts planted it, they rotated it back and forth to better dig into the lunar soil, which obviously made the flag swing like a pendulum, without a breeze.
“There is a huge amount of footage of the flags being on the Moon in exactly the same position.”
By simply comparing photos of the Moon taken after the flag is planted, you will see the astronauts move but the flag remains in exactly the same position.
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Moon landing timeline: detailed look at the Apollo 11 moon landing (Image: GETTY)
NASA itself has faced the false allegations, saying, “Not all flags need a breeze, at least not in space.
“When the astronauts planted the flagpole, they rotated it back and forth to better penetrate the lunar soil – anyone who has placed a blunt tent pole will know how it works.
“So obviously the flag flew. Unrolling a rolled-up piece of cloth with a sore angular momentum will naturally result in waves and ripples, no sting is required. “
The flag of the United States on the Moon was designed to keep it straight in the airless environment of the Moon.
According to NASA, the flag would otherwise hang floppy in a disappointing way.
NASA said, “In addition to the vertical pole that supported the side of the flag, they included a horizontal arm along the top of the flag to keep it out.
“Sometimes the astronauts didn’t fully extend that arm, so the flag didn’t get flattened.
“This would leave ripples in the fabric, making the flag appear in photographs as if it were waving in the breeze, even when perfectly still.”
And to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the flag-waving conspiracy was denied by Professor Anu Ojha of the National Space Center.
Speaking at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich about the moon landing theories, the space expert called the flag plantation a “highlight” of the moon landing.
Yet despite what conspiracy theorists have claimed over the years, the US flag has not flown or slammed on the moon.
NASA Moon Landing: Satellite photos show the flag has fallen since it was planted (Image: NASA)
The flag was erected by suing a telescopic pole with a horizontal pole to keep the fabric extended.
Professor Ojha said: “Because it was set up like this, it looks like it sways in the wind.
“All the wrinkles are there because it was literally ruined for four days en route to the Moon.”
According to Jack Singal, a University of Richmond physics professor, these moon landing conspiracies weren’t as popular as they are today until the late 1970s.
The rise in conspiracies is largely attributed to Bill Kaysing, a former engineer who published the book We Never Went to the Moon in 1974.
NASA Moon Landing: NASA has planted a total of six US flags on the Moon (Image: NASA)
Professor Singal said: “This was the first kind of salvo in this one, and it was very gradual compared, once again, to other important conspiracy theories.”
The year 1974 was also a time when the US government was suffering from the increasingly desperate Vietnam War which ended the following year.
So what happened to the Apollo 11 flag 50 years after it was planted?
After the Apollo 11 mission, NASA planted five more flags on the moon, some of which are still standing today.
Lunar satellite photos show that the Apollo 11 flag has likely fallen, but the Apollo 12, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17 flagpoles are still upright.
However, the effects of the powerful cosmic radiation hitting the Moon have most likely bleached the white flags.
After the moon landing was successfully completed and the three astronauts returned safely to Earth, the three men shared their experience.
Commander Armstrong said, “It’s a tough and strangely different place, but it felt friendly and it turned out to be friendly.”
Mr. Collins said: “I think, in the long run, we find for the first time that man has the flexibility or the option to walk on this planet or some other planet, be it the Moon or Mars, or not. I know where. “
NASA Moon Landings Information: Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (Image: GETTY)
How much does the Apollo program cost NASA?
President John F. Kennedy’s push to bring the first man to the moon came with a heavy financial burden.
According to NASA, the space agency originally predicted a £ 15.9 billion ($ 20 billion) price for the program.
And between 1959 and 1973, the space agency spent 18.8 billion ($ 23.6 billion) on human spaceflight, including 15.9 billion ($ 20 billion) on Apollo alone.
Read more about the cost here: How much is billions worth spending to send humans to the moon?
Quick facts about the Apollo 11 moon landing mission:
1. NASA’s Apollo 11 crew departed from Cape Canaveral in Florida on July 16, 1969.
2. Once the astronauts returned safely to Earth, the Apollo 11 crew had to spend 21 days in quarantine.
3. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent nearly 22 hours on the moon in total but less than three hours on the surface.
4. Apollo 11 astronauts received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Richard Nixon.
5. Apollo 11 returned to Earth and crashed into the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.
Short facts about the moon:
1. Astronomers estimate that the Moon is slowly moving away from the Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year.
2. Because of the way the Moon orbits the Earth, we always see the same side facing us.
3. The Moon was most likely created when a Mars-sized object hit the Earth 4.5 billion years ago.
4. When viewed from Earth, the Moon and the Sun are more or less the same size, which is why we observe solar eclipses.
5. There is water on the Moon but it is trapped in the form of ice caps around the poles of the satellites.
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