45th Anniversary of the Moon Landing. Yeah, we did go there.

Yesterday was the 45th anniversary of humanity's first step onto another body in space. The moon. Sadly, it is still the only other surface we've managed to reach, and even then it's been quite a while since anyone has returned (all not included unmanned mission, of course).

While the fact we've retreated from space exploration is an annoying reality, there are more galling things. The conspiracy theories.


We've all heard of them at this point. We, apparently, have never reached the moon. Never. We couldn't get there before, and seem not to be able to get there still. It lives in the same mindset that questions the age of the Earth, the validity of vaccines, evolution, that ancient humans could build pyramids, and the impact of climate change.

People to this day passionately will argue a great conspiracy existed to fake a launch of a rocket and then a landing of a craft on the moon. Then we have the other conspiracy to continue to hide "the truth" from the public.

Amazing. ...That sounds positive. It's pathetic.




For these people the idea Neil Armstrong led a crew that was made up of Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, into space is too much.

The idea that there was a legit flight planned, called Apollo 11, is too wild. That they crawled into a command module atop a Saturn V rocket, is insane. That they took off to the moon, and Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the lander is coo coo.

And Armstrong taking humanity's first step on that surface...What?

The idea that they then returned to Earth in the command module, alive even, is just the ravings of mad men (A reference for the his crowd out there.).

No, Nixon. They don't want to shake your hand.

If you want to embrace this conspiracy it also means that all the other missions, like Apollo 13, are also part of the massive lie and cover up. That would make the deaths of the Apollo 1 crew (Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee) just part of a lie to create an elaborate con for Apollo 11. It's ridiculous and pathetic.

And this persists to this day. People still harass the surviving astronauts of the era.

You can find videos on the "plot" all over YouTube. But, instead, how about a video explaining how ridiculous some of the claims are?

Collins looks at the idea that the landing was a hoax done up in a Hollywood studio (or any studio).

People like their conspiracies. But some conspiracies just too dumb to enjoy. Sometimes they are also insulting, suggesting we as a species are too stupid to accomplish great things.

Then there are the other claims, like the Van Allen Belt radiation being too much for us. Somehow no scientists working radiation or astronomy has found this a problem. It's as if there is a readily known answer to how to protect from at least some radiation threats in space.

It's all a lot like watching an argument from a Creationist, just rehashing old arguments that were disproved decades before.


Well, for a lighter ending, how about a look at the planning for the moon hoax...I mean landing!