Luca Maffioli
Introduction
The moon landing, which took place in 1969, is one of the biggest events that ever happened and this report is going to analyze it.
This statement is divided in four parts and will examine how everything started, how it developed and what changes it carried. In the fourth and final part it will describe the “ Conspiracy” which is something that existed since when everything started and will give a conclusion. The big question is “ Did Apollo11 really land on the moon, or is everything a fake?”
Methodology
This report has been created thanks to the collection of information coming from four different websites ( The Observe, Study Moose, Engadget, Listverse ). It summarizes the information that researchers analyzed over the years and reported in their articles (Paul Harris – The Observe – August 2012; Christopher Riley – The Observe – December 2012; Josh Fox – The Listverse – December 2008; University of California – Study Moose – March 2016; Ben Gilbert – Engadget – July 2014). It presents some of the proposed evidence to suggest that the moon landing was a fake (Josh Fox – The Listverse – December 2008)
How everything started
After the Second World War there was an economic conflict in between USA and the Soviet Union, called Cold War. USA’s goal was to beat URSS showing to the entire world how clever and powerful State they were. This is why President J. F. Kennedy decided to reach the Moon.
A group of specialized scientists carried out studies and tests for five years before realizing the first mission called Apollo 7. Unfortunately the test became a tragedy after the spacecraft burned in a fire and three astronauts died. After Apollo 7, they continued with researches until when in 1968 they managed to send the first manned spacecraft out of the orbit. (University of California, 2016)
How it developed
After this successful test they made a new mission named Apollo 11, a new shuttle ready for launch. Inside the spacecraft there were astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins. It’s the most well-known in-space exploration history for being the first manned spacecraft to land on another celestial body.
Apollo 11 was divided in three different components:
- Living quarters (which came back to Earth with the three astronauts)
- Service module (which supplied propulsion, electricity and oxygen)
- Lunar module (the crazy-looking shuttle that brought Armstrong and Aldrin from the lunar orbit onto the surface)
With this last component named “ Eagle”, the three astronauts could orbit around the moon for one day before reaching the surface. Once on the moon, Armstrong said “ That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for a mankind”. This phrase became famous as millions of people where following the event and listened to his words.
The astronauts explored the surface, planted the American flag, took pictures and videos. They collected as many information and sample as they could before returning to Earth.
USA had successfully landed a man on the moon and returned them safely, beating the Soviet Union in the space race. (Ben Gilbert, 2014)
What did the moon landing change
Many events happened in USA in 1960s: from their participation in the Vietnam War, Kennedy’s death and the introduction of the Civil Right Act. This period of time was named the “ American century”.
When USA reached the Moon thanks to Apollo mission, the tumultuous decade ended. The Moon Landing is one of the most important steps that helped USA to be recognized as that powerful Country which is still nowadays. (Paul Harris, 2012)
William Bainbridge, writer of the book The Spaceflight Revolution, said that “ Apollo was a grand attempt to reach beyond the world of mundane life and transcend the ordinary limits of human existence through accomplishment of the miraculous – a story of engineers who tried to reach the heavens”. ( The Observe , 2012)
After the mission everything changed: technology, economy and human’s thoughts.
As a matter of fact the moon landing opened a new era of technology which would help in all aspects of life and study for the following years. Technology became more affordable and common: huge computers switched to micro technology and pocket size items. Internet, video streams and social networks are a few examples of what the moon landing inspired. (Paul Harris, 2012)
Conspiracy and Conclusion
It has now been nearly forty years since Armstrong stepped on the moon but the mystery behind it never stopped.
People think that America invented it in order to beat the Russia in the space race; people say they invented this story inside a Hollywood stage or in Area 51 calling this matter Conspiracy.
If you think about it, why after Apollo mission no one has ever been back on the moon? In fact there are many doubts about this.
Another confusing matter is the flag that was planted on the moon, which from the pictures looks wavy and fluttery. How could this be possible, considering that there’s no air in the moon’s atmosphere and no wind to cause the flag movement?
There are a few other pictures taken by NASA that conspiracy theorists are focused on. An example is the “ multiple light source”. On the moon there is only one strong light source: the Sun. Videos and pictures clearly show that shadows fall in different directions.
This could mean that someone has created the images and clearly made the mistake. (Josh Fox, 2008)
This report examined only a few of the many examples that support the Conspiracy theory. You can find plenty of information on the web; a very famous online report is the one written by Listverse’s (you can find the link in the list of References here below) which is very helpful and inspiring.
After reading all of these information about the moon landing you could have a few other questions, such as: how was all of this possible with the technologies of the time? Why so many mistakes and mysteries?
Unfortunately there are questions that cannot be answered, and we cannot know the truth. Anyway, it is still amazing the feeling that a man could been on the Moon.
REFERENCES
- The observe (Christopher Riley, 2012) 40 years Apollo on: how the moon mission changed the world for ever
Retrieved from: https://www. theguardian. com/science/2012/dec/16/apollo-legacy-moon-space-rileyand
(Paul Harris, 2012) Man on the moon: moment of greatness that defined the America century
Retrieved from: https://www. theguardian. com/science/2012/aug/25/man-moon-american-century
- Study Moose (University of California, 2016) Man on the moon essay
Retrieved from:
https://studymoose. com/%EF%BB%BFman-on-the-moon-essay-essay
- Engadget(Ben Gilbert, 2014) What you need to know about the Apollo 11 moon landing
Retrieved from:
https://www. engadget. com/2014/07/21/apollo-11-explainer/
- Listverse (Josh Fox, 2008) 10 reasons the moon landing could be a hoax
Retrieved from:
http://listverse. com/2012/12/28/10-reasons-the-moon-landings-could-be-a-hoax/
