MOSCOW, July 20 - RIA Novosti. Famed cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who personally prepared for participation in the Soviet lunar exploration program, denied years of rumors that American astronauts were not on the Moon, and the footage broadcast on television around the world was allegedly edited in Hollywood.

He spoke about this in an interview with RIA Novosti on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the first landing in the history of mankind of US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the surface of an Earth satellite, celebrated on July 20.

So were or weren't the Americans on the moon?

“Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the moon. And, unfortunately, this whole ridiculous epic about the allegedly fabricated footage in Hollywood began precisely with the Americans themselves. By the way, the first person who began to distribute these rumors, was imprisoned for slander," Aleksey Leonov noted in this regard.

Where did the rumors come from?

“It all started with the fact that when, at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the famous American film director Stanley Kubrick, who created his brilliant film Odyssey 2001 based on the book of science fiction writer Arthur Clarke, journalists who met with Kubrick’s wife asked to talk about her husband’s work on the film in Hollywood studios.And she honestly said that there are only two real lunar modules on Earth - one in a museum where no filming has ever been done, and it’s even forbidden to walk with a camera, and the other is in Hollywood, where, to develop the logic of what is happening on the screen and additional filming of the landing of the Americans on the moon was made," the Soviet cosmonaut specified.

Why was studio photography used?

Alexei Leonov explained that in order for the viewer to be able to see the development of what is happening on the movie screen from beginning to end, elements of additional filming are used in any movie.

“It was impossible, for example, to film the real opening by Neil Armstrong of the hatch of the descent ship on the Moon - there was simply no one to film it from the surface! For the same reason, it was impossible to film Armstrong’s descent to the Moon along the ladder from the ship. Kubrick in Hollywood studios to develop the logic of what is happening, and laid the foundation for numerous gossip that the entire landing was allegedly simulated on the set, "explained Alexei Leonov.

Where Truth Begins and Editing Ends

“Real shooting began when Armstrong, who first set foot on the Moon, got a little used to it, installed a highly directional antenna, through which the broadcast to Earth was carried out. its movement on the surface of the moon," the astronaut specified.

Why did the American flag fly in the airless space of the moon?

“They argue that the American flag was flying on the moon, but it shouldn’t be. The flag really shouldn’t be flying - the fabric was used with a rather rigid reinforced mesh, the cloth was twisted into a tube and tucked into a case. The astronauts took with them a nest, which they first inserted into the lunar soil, and then they stuck the flagpole into it, and only then removed the cover. And when the cover was removed, the flag's cloth began to unfold in conditions of reduced gravity, and the residual deformation of the springy reinforced mesh created the impression that the flag was rippling, as if in the wind " , - Alexey Leonov explained the "phenomenon".

“It is simply ridiculous and ridiculous to argue that the entire film was filmed on Earth. The United States had all the necessary systems that tracked the launch of the launch vehicle itself, acceleration, correction of the flight orbit, the descent capsule flying around the Moon and its landing,” - concluded the famous Soviet cosmonaut.

What did the "lunar race" lead to two space superpowers

“In my opinion, this is the best competition in space that humanity has ever carried out. The “moon race” between the USSR and the USA is the achievement of the highest peaks of science and technology,” Alexei Leonov believes.

According to him, after the flight of Yuri Gagarin, US President Kennedy, speaking in Congress, said that the Americans simply thought too late about what triumph could be achieved by launching a man into space, and therefore the Russians triumphantly became the first. Kennedy's message was clear: within ten years, put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth.

“This was a very true step of the great politician - he united and rallied the American nation to achieve this goal. Huge funds for those times were also involved - 25 billion dollars, today, this is, perhaps, all fifty billion. The program included a flyby of the moon, then the flight of Tom Stafford to the point of hovering and selection of a site for landing on Apollo 10. Sending Apollo 11 already provided for the direct landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Michael Collins remained in orbit and waited for the return of his comrades, " - said Alexei Leonov.

18 Apollo-type ships were made to prepare for landing on the moon - the whole program was implemented perfectly, except for Apollo 13 - from the engineering point of view, nothing special happened there, it just failed, or rather, one of the fuel cells exploded , the energy weakened, and therefore it was decided not to land on the surface, but to fly around the Moon and return to Earth.

Alexei Leonov noted that only the first flight around the moon by Frank Bormann, then the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon and the story of Apollo 13 remained in the memory of the Americans. These accomplishments have brought the American nation together and made every individual empathize, walk with fingers crossed, and pray for their heroes. The last flight of the Apollo series was also extremely interesting: American astronauts no longer just walked on the Moon, but traveled on its surface in a special lunar vehicle, making interesting photographs.

In fact, it was the peak of the Cold War, and in this situation, after the success of Yuri Gagarin, the Americans simply had to win the "moon race". The USSR then had its own lunar program, and we also implemented it. By 1968, it had already existed for two years, and even the crews of our cosmonauts were formed for a flight to the Moon.

On censorship of the achievements of mankind

"The launches of the Americans as part of the lunar program were broadcast on television, and only two countries in the world - the USSR and communist China - did not broadcast these historical footage to their peoples. I thought then, and now I think - in vain, we simply robbed our people "The flight to the moon is the property and achievement of all mankind. The Americans watched Gagarin's launch, Leonov's spacewalk - why couldn't the Soviet people see it?!", laments Alexei Leonov.

According to him, a limited group of Soviet space specialists watched these launches through a closed channel.

“We had military unit 32103 on Komsomolsky Prospekt, which provided space broadcasting, since there was no TsUP in Korolev then. The Americans set up a television antenna on the surface of the moon, and everything they did there was transmitted through a television camera to Earth, several repetitions of these television broadcasts were also made.When Armstrong stood on the surface of the moon, and everyone in the USA clapped, we are here in the USSR , Soviet cosmonauts, also crossed their fingers for good luck, and sincerely wished the guys success, "recalls the Soviet cosmonaut.

How was the implementation of the Soviet lunar program

"In 1962, a decree was issued, signed personally by Nikita Khrushchev, on the creation of a spacecraft for flying around the moon and using the Proton launch vehicle with an upper stage for this launch. In 1964, Khrushchev signed a program for the USSR to fly around , and in 1968 - landing on the moon and returning to Earth. And in 1966 there was already a decision on the formation of lunar crews - a group was immediately recruited for landing on the moon, "Alexey Leonov recalled.

The first stage of the flyby of the Earth satellite was to be carried out with the help of the launch of the L-1 lunar module by the Proton launch vehicle, and the second stage - landing and returning back - on the giant and most powerful N-1 rocket, equipped with thirty engines with a total thrust of 4.5 thousand tons with the weight of the rocket itself about 2 thousand tons. However, even after four test launches, this super-heavy rocket did not fly normally, so it had to be abandoned in the end.

Korolev and Glushko: the antipathy of two geniuses

"There were other options, for example, using a 600-ton engine developed by the brilliant designer Valentin Glushko, but Sergey Korolev refused it, since he worked on highly toxic heptyl. Although, in my opinion, this was not the reason - just two leaders , Korolev and Glushko - could not and did not want to work together. Their relationship had its own problems of a purely personal nature: Sergei Korolev, for example, knew that Valentin Glushko had once written a denunciation against him, as a result of which he was sentenced to ten years When Korolyov was released, he found out about this, but Glushko did not know that he knew about it, "said Alexei Leonov.

A small step for a man, but a giant leap for all mankind

NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft on July 20, 1969, with a crew of three astronauts: Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Aldrin, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, became the first to reach the Moon in the USSR-US space race. The Americans did not pursue research tasks in this expedition, its goal was simple: to land on the Earth's satellite and return successfully.

The ship consisted of a lunar module and a command module that remained in orbit during the mission. Thus, of the three astronauts, only two went to the moon: Armstrong and Aldrin. They had to land on the moon, collect samples of the lunar soil, take pictures on the Earth satellite and install several instruments. However, the main ideological component of the trip was still the hoisting of the American flag on the moon and the holding of a video communication session with the Earth.

The launch of the ship was watched by US President Richard Nixon and German rocket scientist Hermann Oberth. A total of about a million people watched the launch at the cosmodrome and mounted observation platforms, and more than a billion people watched the television broadcast, according to the Americans, around the world.

Apollo 11 launched to the moon on July 16, 1969 at 1332 GMT and entered lunar orbit 76 hours later. The command and lunar modules were undocked about 100 hours after launch. Despite the fact that NASA intended to land on the lunar surface in automatic mode, Armstrong, as the expedition commander, decided to land the lunar module in semi-automatic mode.

The lunar module landed on the Sea of ​​Tranquility on July 20 at 20:17:42 GMT. Armstrong descended to the lunar surface on July 21, 1969 at 02:56:20 GMT. Everyone knows the phrase that he uttered when he stepped on the moon: "This is one small step for a person, but a giant leap for all mankind."

Aldrin also landed on the moon 15 minutes later. The astronauts collected the necessary amount of materials, placed the instruments and installed a television camera. After that, they planted an American flag in the field of view of the camera and held a communication session with President Nixon. The astronauts left a commemorative plaque on the Moon with the words: "Here, people from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon. July 1969 of the new era. We came in peace on behalf of all Humanity."

Aldrin was on the moon for about an hour and a half, Armstrong for two hours and ten minutes. At the 125th hour of the mission and the 22nd hour of stay on the Moon, the lunar module was launched from the surface of the Earth's satellite. The crew splashed down on the blue planet about 195 hours after the start of the mission, soon the astronauts were picked up by the aircraft carrier that came to the rescue.

The moon is a good place. Definitely deserves a short visit.
Neil Armstrong

Almost half a century has passed since the flights of the Apollo spacecraft, but the debate about whether the Americans were on the moon does not subside, but becomes more and more fierce. The piquancy of the situation is that the supporters of the "lunar conspiracy" theory are trying to challenge not real historical events, but their own, vague and error-ridden idea of ​​them.

Lunar epic

Facts first. On May 25, 1961, six weeks after Yuri Gagarin's triumphant flight, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to the Senate and House of Representatives in which he promised that before the end of the decade, an American would land on the moon. Having suffered a defeat at the first stage of the space "race", the United States set out not only to catch up, but also to overtake the Soviet Union.

The main reason for the backlog at that time was that the Americans underestimated the importance of heavy ballistic missiles. Like their Soviet colleagues, American specialists studied the experience of German engineers who built A-4 (V-2) missiles during the war, but did not give these projects serious development, believing that long-range bombers would be enough in a global war. Of course, the Wernher von Braun team, taken out of Germany, continued to create ballistic missiles in the interests of the army, but they were unsuitable for space flights. When the Redstone rocket, the successor to the German A-4s, was modified to launch the first American spacecraft, the Mercury, it could only lift it to suborbital altitude.

Nevertheless, resources were found in the United States, so American designers quickly created the necessary “line” of carriers: from Titan-2, which launched the two-seat Gemini maneuvering ship, to Saturn-5, capable of sending the three-seat Apollo spacecraft » to the moon.

redstone
Saturn-1B
Saturn-5
Titan-2

Of course, before sending expeditions, it was necessary to carry out colossal work. Spacecraft of the Lunar Orbiter series carried out detailed mapping of the nearest celestial body - with their help, it was possible to identify and study suitable landing sites. The Surveyor series landers made soft landings and transmitted beautiful images of the surrounding area.

The Lunar Orbiter spacecraft carefully mapped the moon, determining the places of future landings of astronauts

The Surveyor spacecraft studied the Moon directly on its surface; parts of the Surveyor-3 apparatus were taken and delivered to Earth by the crew of Apollo 12

In parallel, the Gemini program developed. After unmanned launches, on March 23, 1965, the Gemini 3 spacecraft was launched, which maneuvered, changing the speed and inclination of the orbit, which at that time was an unprecedented achievement. Soon the Gemini 4 flew, on which Edward White made the first spacewalk for Americans. The ship worked in orbit for four days, testing orientation systems for the Apollo program. On Gemini 5, which launched on August 21, 1965, electrochemical generators and a radar designed for docking were tested. In addition, the crew set a record for the duration of their stay in space - almost eight days (the Soviet cosmonauts managed to break it only in June 1970). By the way, during the flight of "Gemini-5" the Americans for the first time encountered the negative consequences of weightlessness - the weakening of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, measures were developed to prevent such effects: a special diet, drug therapy and a series of physical exercises.

In December 1965, the Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 ships approached each other, simulating a docking. Moreover, the crew of the second ship spent more than thirteen days in orbit (that is, the total time of the lunar expedition), proving that the measures taken to maintain physical fitness are quite effective during such a long flight. On the Gemini-8, Gemini-9 and Gemini-10 ships, they practiced the docking procedure (by the way, Neil Armstrong was the commander of the Gemini-8). On Gemini 11 in September 1966, they tested the possibility of an emergency launch from the Moon, as well as a flight through the Earth's radiation belts (the ship rose to a record height of 1369 km). On Gemini 12, the astronauts tried out a series of manipulations in outer space.

During the flight of the Gemini 12, astronaut Buzz Aldrin proved the possibility of complex manipulations in outer space.

At the same time, the designers were preparing for testing the "intermediate" two-stage Saturn-1 rocket. During her first launch on October 27, 1961, she surpassed in thrust the Vostok rocket, on which Soviet cosmonauts flew. It was assumed that the same rocket would launch the first Apollo 1 spacecraft into space, but on January 27, 1967, a fire broke out at the launch complex, in which the crew of the ship died, and many plans had to be revised.

In November 1967, tests began on the huge three-stage Saturn-5 rocket. During the first flight, she lifted the command and service module of Apollo 4 into orbit with a mock-up of the lunar module. In January 1968, the Apollo 5 lunar module was tested in orbit, and the unmanned Apollo 6 went there in April. The last launch due to a failure of the second stage almost ended in disaster, but the rocket pulled the ship out, demonstrating good "survivability".

On October 11, 1968, the Saturn-1B rocket launched the command and service module of the Apollo 7 spacecraft with the crew into orbit. For ten days, the astronauts tested the ship, carrying out complex maneuvers. Theoretically, "Apollo" was ready for the expedition, but the lunar module was still "raw". And then a mission was invented that was not originally planned at all - a flight around the moon.

The flight of the Apollo 8 spacecraft was not planned by NASA: it was an improvisation, but it was carried out brilliantly, securing another historic priority for American space exploration.

On December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft, without a lunar module, but with a crew of three astronauts, set off for a nearby celestial body. The flight went relatively smoothly, but two more launches were needed before the historic landing on the Moon: the Apollo 9 crew worked out the procedure for docking and undocking the spacecraft modules in near-Earth orbit, then the Apollo 10 crew did the same, but already close to the Moon . On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin set foot on the moon, proclaiming US leadership in space exploration.

The crew of the Apollo 10 spacecraft held a "dress rehearsal", completing all the operations necessary for landing on the moon, but without landing itself

The lunar module of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, named "Eagle" ("Eagle") goes to land

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing was broadcast via the Parkes Observatory radio telescope in Australia; the original records of the historical event were also preserved and recently discovered there

Then new successful missions followed: Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17. As a result, twelve astronauts visited the Moon, conducted reconnaissance of the area, installed scientific equipment, collected soil samples, and tested rovers. Only the crew of Apollo 13 was unlucky: on the way to the Moon, a tank of liquid oxygen exploded, and NASA specialists had to work hard to return the astronauts to Earth.

Theory of falsification

Devices for creating an artificial sodium comet were installed on the Luna-1 spacecraft

It would seem that the reality of expeditions to the moon should not be in doubt. NASA regularly published press releases and bulletins, specialists and astronauts gave numerous interviews, many countries and the world scientific community participated in the technical support, tens of thousands of people watched huge rockets take off, and millions watched live TV broadcasts from space. Lunar soil was brought to Earth, which many selenologists were able to study. International scientific conferences were held to understand the data that came from the instruments left on the moon.

But even in that eventful time, there were people who questioned the facts of landing astronauts on the moon. The skepticism towards space achievements appeared as early as 1959, and the probable reason for this was the policy of secrecy pursued by the Soviet Union: for decades it even concealed the location of its cosmodrome!

Therefore, when Soviet scientists announced that they had launched the Luna-1 research apparatus, some Western experts spoke in the spirit that the communists were simply fooling the world community. Experts foresaw the questions and placed a device for evaporating sodium on Luna-1, with the help of which an artificial comet was created, with a brightness equal to the sixth magnitude.

Conspiracy theorists even dispute the reality of Yuri Gagarin's flight

Claims also arose later: for example, some Western journalists questioned the reality of Yuri Gagarin's flight, because the Soviet Union refused to provide any documentary evidence. There was no camera on board the Vostok ship, the appearance of the ship itself and the launch vehicle remained classified.

But the US authorities have never expressed doubts about the reliability of what happened: even during the flight of the first satellites, the National Security Agency (NSA) deployed two observation stations in Alaska and Hawaii and installed radio equipment there capable of intercepting telemetry that came from Soviet devices. During Gagarin's flight, the stations were able to receive a television signal with the image of the astronaut transmitted by the onboard camera. Within an hour, printouts of individual frames from this broadcast were in the hands of government officials, and President John F. Kennedy congratulated the Soviet people on their outstanding achievement.

Soviet military specialists working at the Scientific and Measuring Station No. 10 (NIP-10), located in the village of Shkolnoye near Simferopol, intercepted data from the Apollo spacecraft during the entire flight to the moon and back

The Soviet intelligence did the same. At the NIP-10 station, located in the village of Shkolnoye (Simferopol, Crimea), a set of equipment was assembled that allows intercepting all information from the Apollos, including live TV broadcasts from the Moon. Aleksey Mikhailovich Gorin, head of the interception project, gave an exclusive interview to the author of this article, in which, in particular, he said: “A standard system of drives in azimuth and elevation was used to point and control a very narrow beam. Based on information about the place (Cape Canaveral) and the launch time, the flight path of the spacecraft was calculated in all areas.

It should be noted that during about three days of flight, only occasionally did the beam pointing deviate from the calculated trajectory, which was easily corrected manually. We started with Apollo 10, which made a test flight around the moon without landing. This was followed by flights with the landing of the Apollo from the 11th to the 15th ... They took quite clear images of the spacecraft on the Moon, the exit of both astronauts from it and travel on the surface of the Moon. Video from the Moon, speech and telemetry were recorded on appropriate tape recorders and transferred to Moscow for processing and translation.

In addition to data interception, Soviet intelligence also collected any information on the Saturn-Apollo program, as it could be used for the USSR's own lunar plans. For example, scouts monitored missile launches from the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, when preparations began for the joint flight of the Soyuz-19 and Apollo CSM-111 spacecraft (ASTP mission), which took place in July 1975, Soviet specialists were admitted to official information on the ship and rocket. And, as you know, no claims were made against the American side.

The claims came from the Americans themselves. In 1970, that is, even before the completion of the lunar program, a pamphlet by a certain James Cryney "Has a man landed on the moon?" (Did man land on the Moon?). The public ignored the pamphlet, although it was perhaps the first to formulate the main thesis of the "conspiracy theory": an expedition to the nearest celestial body is technically impossible.

Technical writer Bill Kaysing can rightfully be called the founder of the "lunar conspiracy" theory.

The topic began to gain popularity a little later, after the release of Bill Kaysing's self-published book We Never Went to the Moon (1976), which outlined the now "traditional" arguments in favor of conspiracy theory. For example, the author seriously claimed that all the deaths of the participants in the Saturn-Apollo program were associated with the elimination of unwanted witnesses. It must be said that Kaysing is the only one of the authors of books on this topic who was directly related to the space program: from 1956 to 1963 he worked as a technical writer for the Rocketdyne company, which was just designing the super-powerful F-1 engine for the rocket " Saturn-5".

However, after being fired "of his own free will," Kaysing became a beggar, grabbed any job, and probably did not have warm feelings for his former employers. In a book that was reprinted in 1981 and 2002, he claimed that the Saturn V rocket was a "technical fake" and could never send astronauts on an interplanetary flight, so in reality the Apollos flew around the Earth, and television broadcasts were using unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ralph Rene made a name for himself by accusing the US government of rigging the moon landings and orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The creation of Bill Kaysing was also initially ignored. The fame was brought to him by the American conspiracy theorist Ralph Rene, who pretended to be a scientist, physicist, inventor, engineer and science journalist, but in reality did not graduate from any higher educational institution. Like his predecessors, Rene published the book How NASA Showed America the Moon (NASA Mooned America!, 1992) at his own expense, but at the same time he could already refer to other people's "studies", that is, he looked not like a lone psycho, but like a skeptic in searching for truth.

Probably, the book, the lion's share of which is devoted to the analysis of certain photographs taken by astronauts, would also have gone unnoticed if the era of TV shows had not come, when it became fashionable to invite all kinds of freaks and outcasts to the studio. Ralph Rene managed to make the most of the sudden interest of the public, since he had a well-spoken tongue and did not hesitate to make absurd accusations (for example, he claimed that NASA deliberately damaged his computer and destroyed important files). His book was repeatedly reprinted, and each time increasing in volume.

Among the documentaries devoted to the theory of the “lunar conspiracy”, outright hoaxes come across: for example, the pseudo-documentary French film “The Dark Side of the Moon” (Opération lune, 2002)

The theme itself was also asking for a film adaptation, and soon there were films with a claim to documentary: “Was it just a paper moon?” (Was It Only a Paper Moon?, 1997), What Happened on the Moon? (What Happened on the Moon?, 2000), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon, 2001, Astronauts Gone Wild: Investigation Into the Authenticity of the Moon Landings, 2004) and the like. By the way, the author of the last two films, film director Bart Sibrel, twice molested Buzz Aldrin with aggressive demands to confess to deception and in the end received a blow in the face from an elderly astronaut. A video of this incident can be found on YouTube. The police, by the way, refused to start a case against Aldrin. Apparently, she thought that the video was faked.

In the 1970s, NASA tried to cooperate with the authors of the "lunar conspiracy" theory and even issued a press release debriefing Bill Kaysing's claims. However, it soon became clear that they did not want a dialogue, but they were happy to use any mention of their fabrications for self-promotion: for example, Kaysing sued astronaut Jim Lovell in 1996 for calling him a “fool” in an interview.

However, what else to call people who believed in the authenticity of the film "The Dark Side of the Moon" (Opération lune, 2002), where the famous director Stanley Kubrick was directly accused of filming all the astronaut landings on the moon in the Hollywood pavilion? Even in the film itself, there are indications that it is fiction in the mockumentary genre, but this did not stop conspiracy theorists from accepting the version with a bang and quoting it even after the creators of the hoax openly admitted to hooliganism. By the way, another “evidence” of the same degree of reliability recently appeared: this time, an interview surfaced with a person similar to Stanley Kubrick, where he allegedly took responsibility for falsifying the materials of lunar missions. The new fake was exposed quickly - it was made too clumsily.

Hiding operation

In 2007, science journalist and popularizer Richard Hoagland co-authored the book Dark Mission with Michael Bara. The Secret History of NASA (Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA), which immediately became a bestseller. In this hefty volume, Hoagland summarized his research on the “cover-up operation” - it is supposedly carried out by US government agencies, hiding from the world community the fact of contact with a more developed civilization that mastered the solar system long before mankind.

Within the framework of the new theory, the “lunar conspiracy” is considered as a product of the activities of NASA itself, which deliberately provokes an illiterate discussion of the falsification of the moon landings so that qualified researchers disdain to deal with this topic for fear of being branded as “outcasts”. Under his theory, Hoagland deftly adjusted all modern conspiracy theories, from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to "flying saucers" and the Martian "sphinx". For his vigorous activity to expose the "cover-up operation", the journalist was even awarded the Ig Nobel Prize, which he received in October 1997.

Believers and non-believers

Supporters of the "lunar conspiracy" theory, or, more simply, "anti-Apollo" are very fond of accusing their opponents of illiteracy, ignorance, or even blind faith. A strange move, given that it is the “anti-Apollo” people who believe in a theory that is not supported by any significant evidence. There is a golden rule in science and jurisprudence: an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence. The attempt to accuse the space agencies and the world's scientific community of falsifying materials that are of great importance to our understanding of the universe must be accompanied by something more significant than a couple of self-published books produced by a resentful writer and narcissistic pseudoscientist.

All the many hours of footage of the Apollo lunar expeditions have long been digitized and are available for study.

If we imagine for a moment that in the United States there was a secret parallel space program using unmanned vehicles, then we need to explain where all the participants in this program have gone: the designers of the “parallel” technology, its testers and operators, as well as the filmmakers who prepared kilometers of films of lunar missions. We are talking about thousands (or even tens of thousands) of people who needed to be attracted to the “lunar conspiracy”. Where are they and where are their confessions? Suppose they all, including foreigners, swore to remain silent. But there should be piles of documents, contracts, orders with contractors, relevant structures and landfills. However, apart from nit-picking some NASA public materials, which are indeed often retouched or presented in a deliberately simplified interpretation, there is nothing. Nothing at all.

However, the “anti-Apollonists” never think about such “little things” and insistently (often in an aggressive form) demand more and more evidence from the opposite side. The paradox is that if, by asking "tricky" questions, they themselves tried to find answers to them, then this would not be a big deal. Let's take a look at some of the more common claims.

During the preparation and implementation of the joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, Soviet specialists were admitted to the official information of the American space program

For example, "anti-Apollo" people ask: why was the Saturn-Apollo program interrupted, and its technologies were lost and cannot be used today? The answer is obvious to anyone who has even a general idea of ​​what was going on in the early 1970s. It was then that one of the most powerful political and economic crises in US history occurred: the dollar lost its gold content and was devalued twice; the protracted Vietnam War was draining resources; youth embraced the anti-war movement; Richard Nixon is on the verge of impeachment in connection with the Watergate scandal.

At the same time, the total costs of the Saturn-Apollo program amounted to $ 24 billion (in terms of current prices, we can talk about 100 billion), and each new launch cost 300 million (1.3 billion in modern prices) - it is clear that further funding has become exorbitant for the waning American budget. The Soviet Union experienced something similar in the late 1980s, which led to the inglorious closure of the Energiya-Buran program, the technology of which was also largely lost.

In 2013, an expedition led by Jeff Bezos, founder of the Internet company Amazon, lifted fragments of one of the F-1 engines of the Saturn V rocket that delivered Apollo 11 into orbit from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Nevertheless, despite the problems, the Americans tried to squeeze a little more out of the lunar program: the Saturn-5 rocket launched the Skylab heavy orbital station (three expeditions visited it in 1973-1974), a joint Soviet-American flight took place " Soyuz-Apollo (ASTP). In addition, the Space Shuttle program, which replaced the Apollos, used the Saturn launch facilities, and some technological solutions obtained during their operation are used today in the design of the promising American SLS carrier.

Work crate containing moonstones in the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility

Another popular question: where did the lunar soil brought by the astronauts go? Why is it not being studied? Answer: it has not gone away, but is stored where it was planned - in the two-story building of the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility, which was built in Houston (Texas). Applications for soil studies should also be submitted there, but only organizations with the necessary equipment can receive them. Each year, a special commission reviews applications and grants between forty and fifty of them; on average, up to 400 samples are sent out. In addition, 98 samples with a total weight of 12.46 kg are exhibited in museums around the world, and dozens of scientific publications have been published on each of them.

Pictures of the landing sites of the Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 spacecraft taken by the main optical camera LRO: the lunar modules, scientific equipment and the "paths" left by the astronauts are clearly visible

Another question in the same vein: why is there no independent evidence of visiting the moon? Answer: they are. If we discard the Soviet evidence, which is still far from complete, and the excellent satellite photographs of the moon landing sites, which were made by the American LRO apparatus and which the "anti-Apollo" also consider a "fake", then the materials presented by the Indians (the Chandrayaan-1 apparatus) are quite enough for analysis. ), the Japanese (Kaguya) and the Chinese (Chang'e-2): all three agencies officially confirmed that they had found footprints left by the Apollo spacecraft.

"Moon Deception" in Russia

By the end of the 1990s, the “lunar conspiracy” theory also came to Russia, where it gained ardent supporters. Its wide popularity, obviously, is facilitated by the sad fact that very few historical books on the American space program are published in Russian, so an inexperienced reader may get the impression that there is nothing to study there.

The most ardent and talkative adherent of the theory was Yuri Mukhin, a former engineer-inventor and publicist with radical pro-Stalinist convictions, who was noticed in historical revisionism. He, in particular, published the book "The Selling Girl of Genetics", in which he refutes the achievements of genetics in order to prove that repressions against domestic representatives of this science were justified. Mukhin's style repels with deliberate rudeness, and he builds his conclusions on the basis of rather primitive distortions.

Cameraman Yuri Elkhov, who participated in the filming of such famous children's films as "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1975) and "About Little Red Riding Hood" (1977), undertook to analyze the film shots taken by the astronauts and came to the conclusion that they were fabricated. True, he used his own studio and equipment for testing, which has nothing to do with NASA equipment of the late 1960s. As a result of the "investigation", Elkhov wrote the book "Sham Moon", which was never published on paper due to lack of funds.

Perhaps the most competent of the Russian "anti-Apollo" remains Alexander Popov - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, a specialist in lasers. In 2009, he published the book "Americans on the Moon - a great breakthrough or a space scam?", In which he gives almost all the arguments of the "conspiracy" theory, supplementing them with his own interpretations. For many years he has been running a special website dedicated to the topic, and at present he has agreed that not only the Apollo flights, but also the Mercury and Gemini ships are falsified. Thus, Popov claims that the Americans made the first flight into orbit only in April 1981 - on the Columbia shuttle. Apparently, the respected physicist does not understand that without huge previous experience it is simply impossible to launch such a complex reusable aerospace system as the Space Shuttle the first time.

* * *

The list of questions and answers can be continued indefinitely, but this makes no sense: the views of the "anti-Apollo" are not based on real facts that can be interpreted in one way or another, but on illiterate ideas about them. Unfortunately, ignorance is tenacious, and even the hook of Buzz Aldrin is not able to change the situation. It remains to hope for time and new flights to the moon, which will inevitably put everything in its place.

Stanley Kubrick filmed the Apollo moon landings

Illustrious astronaut Alexey Leonov, who personally prepared to participate in the Soviet lunar exploration program, denied years of rumors that American astronauts were not on the moon, and the footage broadcast on television around the world allegedly mounted in Hollywood.

He spoke about this in an interview with RIA Novosti on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the first landing of US astronauts in the history of mankind, celebrated on July 20. Neil Armstrong And Edwin Aldrin to the surface of the earth's satellite.

Correspondent: So were or weren't the Americans on the moon?

“Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the moon. And, unfortunately, this whole ridiculous epic about the allegedly fabricated footage in Hollywood began precisely with the Americans themselves. By the way, the first person who began to distribute these rumors, was imprisoned for slander," he said in this regard. Alexey Leonov.

The famous cosmonaut Alexei Leonov

Correspondent Q: Where did the rumors come from?

"It all started with the fact that when, at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the famous American film director Stanley Kubrick, who created according to the book of science fiction Arthur Clark journalists who met with Kubrick's wife asked her to talk about her husband's work on the film in Hollywood studios for their brilliant film "Odyssey 2001". And she honestly said that on Earth there are just two real lunar modules - one in the museum, where no filming has ever been carried out, and it is even forbidden to walk with a camera, and the other is in Hollywood, where to develop the logic of what is happening on the screen and additional shootings were made landing of Americans on the moon," the Soviet cosmonaut said.

Correspondent : Why was studio shooting used?

Alexey Leonov explained that in order for the viewer to be able to see on the movie screen the development of what is happening from beginning to end, elements of additional shooting.

"It was impossible, for example, to film a real discovery Neil Armstrong the hatch of the descent ship on the Moon - there was simply no one to remove it from the surface! For the same reason, it was impossible to film Armstrong's descent to the moon along the ladder from the ship. These are the moments, really. filmed Kubrick in Hollywood studios to develop the logic of what is happening, and laid the foundation for numerous gossip that the entire landing was allegedly simulated on the set, "explained Alexei Leonov.

Correspondent : Where does truth begin and editing end?

“Real shooting began when Armstrong, who first set foot on the moon, got a little comfortable, installed a highly directional antenna through which broadcast to Earth was carried out. His partner Buzz Aldrin then he also left the ship to the surface and began to film Armstrong, who, in turn, filmed his movement on the surface of the moon," the astronaut specified.

Is it so?

Let's ask a question : what is the volume of captured pictures at the Kubrick Pavilion?

On the Moon and in Earth Orbit no atmosphere to scatter sunlight. Therefore the shadows completely dark and the sky is black even when the sun is shining. The harsh lighting creates a striking effect.

Sun and Earth from orbit, Apollo 11; AS11-36-5293..

Photo taken by an astronaut Gregory Harbau. The photo shows his colleague Joseph Tanner during the second spacewalk associated with the maintenance of the Space Telescope. Hubble in February 1997. The photograph also shows the stern of the Space Shuttle Discovery and the Sun hovering over the thin crescent of the Earth's limb. Tanner holds a checklist in his left hand, and Harbau is reflected in the helmet of his suit. NASA

It should be. At the same time, a Hasselblad with a focal length of 60 mm is used on the surface of the "moon" than in the upper image of Apollo 11. This means that the objects in the images will be 25% smaller, in particular the Sun. However, in the pictures of a man’s stay on the moon in 1969-1972, everything is different - optical crown and halo around the sun, the angular dimensions of the "sun" are 10 degrees! This twenty times more than the real size of 0.5 degrees (the apparent size of the Sun in the vicinity of the Earth). Below are a number of pictures.

View of the sun near the LM landing site. Apollo 12. AS12-46-6739

View of the sun 100 meters from the landing site of the LM. Apollo 12. AS12-46-6763

View of the sun 300 meters from the LM landing site. Apollo 14. AS14-64-9177

View of the sun 4 km from the LM landing site. Apollo 15. AS15-87-11745

View of the sun near the LM landing site. Apollo 15. AS15-85-11367

View of the sun 300 m from the landing site of the LM. Apollo 16. AS16-109-17856

View of the sun 100 m from the landing site of the LM. Apollo 17. AS17-134-20410

View of the sun 50 m from the landing site of the LM. Apollo17. AS17-147-22580. Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Lens Focal Length: 60 mm; Sun Elevation: 16°; Description: STA ALSEP; Film Width: 70 mm.

Halo and crown around the sun on Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 indicate the presence of an atmosphere. Details on halo and optical phenomena. Below are pictures of the halo and crown of light sources on Earth in the presence of an atmosphere.

The sun and the halo around it for terrestrial conditions.

Rays and a crown from the sun for terrestrial conditions

Crowns of the Sun.

Halo and crowns of street lamps

1. Optical phenomena are associated with refraction and diffraction on atmospheric water droplets

The diagram shows how two points on the surface of a drop can scatter light and act as sources of a diverging spherical wave. The light increases where the crests of the waves coincide or are of the same sign. The intensity of light decreases where the waves have different amplitudes. Scattered light from the entire surface of the drop plus the contribution of the reflected and transmitted waves are combined in the diffraction pattern - the corona.

The first figure shows the corona from the diffraction of light by small particles. Each point of the illuminated surface is a source of scattered divergent spherical waves ( Huygens-Fresnel principle). The divergent waves intersect each other, where they add up give areas of increased brightness, and where they subtract - dark areas.

The second figure shows scattering from only two points along the central axis, the direction of the incident light, the crests of the two scattered waves always coincide with the shape of the area with bright light intensity.

The third figure shows the sum of all coronas from each spectrum and each particle.

All Apollo photographs with optical phenomena from the sun completely fit within the framework of refraction and diffraction on atmospheric water droplets.

2. Increasing the angular dimensions of the "Sun"

In the case of vacuum, the angular dimensions of the sun, like any light source, remain the same. In the presence of an atmosphere, the situation is different.

Any light wave is scattered by electrons, atoms and molecules of the atmosphere. Moreover, the intensity of the scattered light is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the light wavelength. Because of this, each particle becomes a source of light, especially for blue rays. It's about like a diverging wave from a float, after the main wave has passed through it. As a result, due to the presence of an atmosphere, molecules emit light in all directions, especially brightly near the light source. At very high brightness and exposure, it leads to flare on the film and an increase in the angular dimensions of the light source. An example is shown below.

Electric arc; about 5 mm in size. Due to the scattering of light by air molecules, the size of the light ball is tens of times larger than the size of the plasma channel of the arc.

Finally, with a slight coverage of the light source, due to light scattering in the atmosphere, a halo is preserved. This is what we see in the Apollo pictures. There are no such optical phenomena in real vacuum.

Apollo 14. AS14-66-9305

3. The cause of optical phenomena on the moon is dust

On Earth, we often see a blurry sun, for example through a cloud. This is the scattering of sunlight on aerosols (fog, smoke, dust). Their volume in the earth's atmosphere is no more than 0.1% of the volume of gases that make up atmospheric air. Similarly, it can be assumed for the Moon. This means that in order to observe at least approximately the same optical phenomena (corona, crown, and light scattering), the total mass of particles on the Moon per unit volume must be at least 1 g/m³. This is a huge number of particles and is equivalent to the existence of an aerosol atmosphere on the Moon. Still nothing like this was not found.

DISCUSSION

We have more than 5% of the volume of photographs of man's stay on the Moon in 1969-1972 with the image of halos, solar crowns and light scattering, which indicates the presence of an atmosphere. Considering that 5% of the images are included in the panoramas of the area, it can be firmly stated that 30% of the images from the total volume of photographic materials or more than 70% of the stay of astronauts on the surface of the "Moon" is made in the presence of an atmosphere.

The Apollo 12 panorama (a12pan1162447) consists of more than two dozen photographs, two of which are of the Sun.

More than 70% of photographic documents are photographs taken by Stanley Kubrick! Statement by illustrious cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in support of the Americans' stay on the Moon and about minor studio additional filming bankrupt.

In addition, all images are linked into libraries: 1) Expedition exits, 2) Image numbers, 3) Audio conversations, 4) Apollo videos on the official website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). And this means that the pictures of terrestrial origin, along with audio conversations to them NASA issues for documents man's stay on the moon.

Conclusion: This falsification man's stay on the moon, which has been maintained at the highest official level for more than 40 years.

Glare and optical effects from the "sun" for Apollo 11

The first thing to note is the presence of up to 10 different optical axes (the optical axis is a lens) and the absence of one axis of the light source (in this case, the Sun) in the images. According to the laws of Optics, all highlights on the optical axes for one light source converge at one point. This not in any photo Apollo 11 during their stay on the surface of the moon. At the same time, for images from the Apollo 11 orbit, we see one optical axis of the light source, the Sun, and the absence of a huge number of lighting effects, in particular, the absence of an optical halo, is also noticeable.

On some double vision shadows of the lunar module.

Below pictures

Multiple axes of the light source. Apollo 11, AS11-40-5872HR. Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Film Width: 70mm

Three axis light source. Apollo 11, AS11-40-5935HR. Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Film Width: 70mm

These patterns are obvious for other shots with optical highlights. Below are the glare from the Sun in the same Apollo 11 Hasselblad camera:

View of Earth from orbit, Apollo 11; AS11-36-5293.Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Lens Focal Length: 80 mm; Film Width: 70 mm.

View of the Earth from orbit; Apollo 11, AS11-36-5299.Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Lens Focal Length: 80 mm; Film Width: 70mm

We see one optical axis of the light source, the Sun, and the absence of a huge number of lighting effects, in particular, the absence of an optical halo, is also noticeable. On some light sources in the sky on the "Moon" for Apollo 11 also indicates double vision lunar module shadows:

Ghost shadows from the lunar module indicate multiple light sources above the surface of the moon. AS11-37-5463, AS11-37-5475, AS11-37-5476 andWithincreasedcontrast, brightness. Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Magazine: 37; Description: LUNAR MODULE SHADOW ON SURFACE; Film Width: 70 mm.

Two shadows exactly repeat the contour of the lunar module and details: an antenna for long-distance communication and for radio communications of astronauts, an auxiliary engine system, and more. And this is not one random shot, not three shots, but photo series Magazine 37 - about 20 shots! One could suggest that there are always two shadows on the Moon - one from the Sun, the other from the huge and bright crescent of the Earth! However, look - this is the Earth in the pictures of Apollo 11:

View of the lunar module and Earth for Apollo 11; AS11-40-5923, AS11-40-5924. LUNAR MODULE; EARTH.

Compare with the brightness of the Sun (see pictures above). In general, the Sun is far from the most powerful star in existence, but it is relatively close to the Earth and therefore shines very brightly - 500,000 times brighter than the full Moon and 5,000 times brighter than the full Earth when viewed from the Moon. Our planet shines several orders of magnitude lower.! In addition, keep in mind that the Earth is at its zenith. And what is the shadow of the Earth?! Under you!

All together - this is the absurdities of NASA and the lack of knowledge

But even after the revelation that Apollo 11 images of the moon landing indicate multiple light sources in the sky and are fake, NASA advocates persist in their "Americans walked on the moon." The amazing nature of the debaters!

This note about multiple lights in the sky on the Moon does not apply to flares for the rest of the sojourn missions: Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17. For the images of these missions, we have one axis of the light source. And here it should be noted that the shooting conditions are the same - the low position of the Sun above the horizon, the optical equipment is the same - the Hasselblad camera, the shooting technique is the same, the picture is the same as for Orlov ... However, the axis of the light source is the only one. Photos of Apollo 11 fall out from the general rule. Probably NASA on the "first" flight to the moon not enough power one spotlight.

You can also note the minor "strangeness" of glare on the optics of Apollo 11, in general, the Apollo mission:

- the presence of equidistant twisted spirals in the flare, as in a long-range searchlight;

– asymmetry of glare elements, which is possible if the light source is not symmetrical;

- glare from the presence of a drop of liquid on the lens (re-reflection on the surface of the drop);

– halo and crown (crown) around the sun for Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17, which is possible only in the presence of an atmosphere;

- other.

The halo and crown around the sun in the Apollo 17 image (AS17-147-22580) indicates the presence of an atmosphere. in detail OhaloAndopticalphenomena . Image Collection: 70mm Hasselblad; Lens Focal Length: 60 mm; Sun Elevation: 16°; Description: STA ALSEP; Film Width: 70 mm.

Conclusion: before us some light sources illuminate the surface of the "Moon" for the Apollo 11 astronauts. This indicates hoax NASA lunar conditions in the pavilion on the ground.

US moon scam. Yuri Mukhin. MaximumliesAndnonsense

More detailed and a variety of information about the events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet, can be obtained on Internet conferences, constantly held on the website "Keys of Knowledge". All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite all waking up and interested ...

Science fiction writers, and after them film directors, dreamed of the Moon long before a man actually went into space.

1. Journey to the Moon

Le Voyage dans la Lune

• France, 1902
• Fantasy, comedy.
• Duration: 14 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

3. Space flight

• USSR, 1935.
• Fantastic.
• Duration: 70 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.1.

Events take place in 1946 (that is, in the future at the time of the release of the picture). The first experiments in the conquest of space end in failure: the rabbit dies, and the cat disappears. But the academician and his young companions follow them on the Joseph Stalin rocket. They successfully get to the moon and even rescue a cat that was missing there.

When creating the film, the authors were consulted by the founder of theoretical cosmonautics Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. And despite the fact that real flights were at that time in the distant future, the filmmakers managed to plausibly show the launch of the rocket, overload and.

4. Destination - Moon

Destination-Moon

• USA, 1950.
• Drama, fantasy.
• Duration: 180 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.4.

The film is based on the novel Rocketship Galileo by Robert Heinlein. Only common features remain from the original. Almost the entire plot is devoted to the preparation of the first expedition to the moon and the flight itself. One of the first astronauts even has to go into outer space due to an engine failure.

Curiously, in 1969, Robert Heinlein, along with another well-known writer, commented live on television on the real landing on the moon.

5 Catwomen Of The Moon

Cat Women of the Moon

• USA, 1953.
• Fantasy, adventure.
• Duration: 64 minutes.
• IMDb: 3.7.

On the dark side of the moon, astronauts find a cave where the air is breathable. They discover there a city inhabited by beautiful and friendly girls. But in fact, the natives do not have the most pleasant plans for the aliens.

Every year the number of films about visiting the moon grew, and such vulgar creations were inevitable even then. All the girls in the film are wearing tight tights (which is probably why they are called cats), and the astronauts treat them like bar patrons.

In 1958, a remake of this film, Rocket to the Moon, appeared. And in 1961, the picture “Naked on the Moon” was released, where, as the name implies, the tights were also abandoned.

6. From the Earth to the Moon

From the Earth to the Moon

• USA, 1958.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.1.

A rare case when the action in such a film takes place not in the future, but in the past. In the film adaptation of Jules Verne's novel, three men and one girl are sent to the moon, who, of course, sneaked onto the ship.

7. The first people on the moon

First Men in the Moon

• UK, 1964
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.7.

Another adaptation of a classic. This time, the film was based on the novel of the same name. An international UN expedition arrives on the moon and discovers that the British have been there much earlier. The pioneer is in a nursing home and talks about the first flight and contacts with the lunar inhabitants.

Interestingly, the unexpected ending of this film is taken from another book by Wells - The War of the Worlds. In 2010, another adaptation of the same work was released. The script for it was written by one of the authors of "Sherlock" Mark Gattis.

8. For the sake of all mankind

For All Mankind

• USA, 1989
• Documentary.
• Duration: 80 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

10 First on the Moon

• Russia, 2005
• pseudo-documentary.
• Duration: 75 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.0.

A group of enthusiasts is trying to understand the events of the distant past. It turns out that back in the 1930s, an expedition to the moon was sent to the USSR, but communication with the ship was lost, and then a strange meteorite fell to Earth. And all this was filmed by hidden cameras of intelligence agents.

11. Journey to the Moon 3D

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D

• USA, 2005
• Documentary, short film.
• Duration: 40 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.0.

The incredibly beautiful film includes both documentary footage from NASA and computer graphics. And behind the scenes (who once played in Apollo 13) talks about the conquest of space and the majestic silence of the moon.

12. Moon 2112

• UK, 2009
• Fantasy, drama, dystopia.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.9.

Sam has been working on the moon for three years at a rare gas station. He can only communicate with a talking robot, and there is not a soul around. His contract is already coming to an end. But then Sam meets his replacement - himself.

The first film by Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) was made with minimal investment. Even the model of the lunar rover was simply dragged on a rope.

13. Apollo 18

Apollo 18

• USA, Canada, 2011.
• Mock documentary, science fiction, .
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.2.

According to official information, the lunar program ended on Apollo 17. However, conspiracy theorists believe that there were other flights, but all data about them are classified. The pseudo-documentary follows the next visit to the Moon, where the team encountered a strange infestation.

14. Lunar scam

Moonwalkers

• France, 2015
• Comedy.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.1.

And another plot based on conspiracy theory. In the late 1960s, an FBI agent travels to London to help film the moon landing. However, instead of Kubrick, he comes across a petty crook and a weed lover who shoots documentary footage on the premises of a porn studio.