“The moon landing was faked.”

The belief that the Apollo moon landings were faked largely originated in the mid-1970s, fueled by a climate of public distrust in government following events like the Vietnam War and Watergate. A former employee of a company that worked with NASA, Bill Kaysing, self-published a pamphlet in 1976 claiming the agency lacked the technical capability to reach the moon and faked the missions. This initial claim, coupled with a general inclination towards questioning official narratives, laid the groundwork for a conspiracy theory that has persisted and evolved, finding new life and broader reach with the advent of the internet.

However, the reality of the moon landings is supported by an immense body of scientific and historical evidence. Astronauts brought back 382 kilograms of moon rocks across six missions, which have been analyzed by scientists worldwide and confirmed to be of extraterrestrial, lunar origin. Furthermore, orbital images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) clearly show the landing sites, including the descent stages of the lunar modules, equipment left behind, and even the tracks made by astronauts on the dusty surface. The missions were also independently tracked by other nations, including the Soviet Union, which would have had every political motivation to expose a hoax.

Despite this compelling evidence, the myth endures for several reasons. Many arguments against the landings stem from a misunderstanding of physics and photography in a vacuum, such as the appearance of a "waving" flag (caused by a rigid rod to unfurl it in space) or the absence of stars in photos (due to camera exposure settings that prioritized the brightly lit lunar surface). The complex nature of space travel and the sheer scale of the achievement can also make it seem unbelievable to some. The internet has further amplified these misconceptions, allowing them to spread widely and quickly, often without critical examination, feeding a general skepticism towards major historical events and official accounts.