We've had a look at a number of different conspiracy theories surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, and so this week we're going into outer space for our next deep dive! The majority of people believe that NASA have indeed landed on the Moon on multiple occasions, but there are conspiracy theorists out there who don't believe that to be the case...
A bit of background...
Between 1969 and 1972, there have been six manned landings on the moon by the United States according to NASA. The first was Apollo 11, which landed on July 20, 1969 and made headlines around the world. Having launched on July 16 of the same year, the ship carried Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and saw the trio claim the titles of the first men to ever step foot on the Moon.
Despite the wealth of evidence to prove the landings were real, conspiracists have done a good job of ensuring interest in their theories remains at a high. There was even a Fox television network documentary aired in 2001, which claimed NASA faked their first landing in 1969.
So what do the conspiracists say?
One of the biggest and most believable theories is that NASA faked their first Moon landing in 1969 simply so that the United States could claim victory in what has been coined the 'Space Race'. Up against the Soviet Union in a battle to the Moon, the race was given the backdrop of being right in the middle of the Cold War.
Philip Plait, who specialises in debunking conspiracy theories, says that the Soviets would have quickly cried foul and rebutted the United States' claims if there were any evidence of them faking a Moon landing. That's not the only theory however...
Another leading theory is of course centred on the idea of NASA faking the landings simply to boost their funding. If they were consistently failing to land on the Moon, conspiracists say that they would have had their funding cut and the entire operations would have eventually folded. Having raised around $30 billion to get to the Moon, many say that a chunk of the cash could have been used as hush money, to keep those who knew about the 'fake' landing quiet.
One shocking theory in 2009 came from The American Patriot Friends Network, who said that the landings allowed the United States government the opportunity to distract the public from the Vietnam War. Sounds like it makes sense, right? Well, not really. You see, NASA actually had to compete with the funding provided for the war, and a peak for the money being given to the organisation peaked back in 1966. By 1972, their funds had fallen by 42.3%.
One of the things most conspiracists go to when talking about the Moon landing being a potential hoax, is the shadows cast by the objects on the surface. They say that this proves there were light sources with the astronauts, and that it shows they were in fact in a studio. In reality, a low sun and uneven surface can distort the angles of shadows in images.
So, what do you think?
NOTE: Conspiracies are theories often created with a lack of evidence. Each of our conspiracy reports are based on online research, but should never be taken as 100% fact.
NEXT WEEK: Project MKUltra
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