Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

Recently, in the United States, after the statute of limitations had expired, sensational documents dedicated to the landing of man on the Moon were declassified. It turned out that the expedition was on the verge of failure, and Nixon was going to read the obituary while the astronauts were still alive. They were ready to abandon the astronauts to their fate and cut off communications with them. “It’s hard to read this speech,” admitted one of the archivists. “It’s like a fantasy about what would have happened if the southerners had defeated the northerners in 1865, and the Nazis had won in 1945.”

UNPREACHED BUT PREPARED SPEECH BY US PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON:

“Fate has decreed that the people who flew to the moon for the sake of its peaceful exploration are destined to rest there in peace. These courageous people, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that they have no hope. But they also know that in their sacrifice there is hope for all mankind. Both of them give their lives for one of the noblest goals that humanity has set for itself: for the sake of knowledge and the search for truth. They are mourned by their families and friends; they are mourned by their fatherland; they are mourned by the peoples of the world; they are mourned by their homeland itself The land that risked sending two of its sons into the unknown, their expedition united all the peoples of the world into one united people, their sacrifice will strengthen the unity of all people.

In ancient times, people peered into the sky to see the image of their heroes among the constellations. Since then, little has changed - except that our heroes have become people of flesh and blood. Others will follow them and will certainly find their way home. Their search will not be in vain. However, these people were the first, and they will remain first in our hearts. From now on, everyone who turns their gaze to the Moon will remember that a tiny corner of this alien world forever belongs to humanity."

On that happy day for them, July 20, 1969, when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon and the US President himself addressed them via radio, Richard Nixon’s desk already contained the prepared text of the speech that he was preparing to deliver shortly after the “lunar negotiations” session. . If the astronauts could not be returned aboard Apollo, Nixon intended to say that both of these heroes “they give their lives for one of the most noble goals set for themselves by humanity: for the sake of knowledge and the search for truth. From now on, everyone who turns their gaze to the Moon will remember that a tiny corner of this alien world forever belongs to humanity.”

In the program of events drawn up in advance for the occasion of the landing of people on the moon, after the mournful speech of the president, a funeral service was listed.

It was not only Nixon, his speechwriters and those around him who believed the worst. Edwin Aldrin himself expected the worst. Going on the flight, he believed that the probability of a successful landing was only 50 - 60 percent. Doom expectations have fueled recent tragedies. In 1967, during a fire at the launch site, the crew of Apollo 1, also consisting of three people, died. In the same year, in the USSR, during the completion of the flight program on the Soyuz-1 spacecraft, pilot-cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died.

What caused the most concern among experts was the descent vehicle that landed on the Moon. When the first sample of this device was delivered to Cape Kennedy from the workshops of the Grumman Aerospace concern in the summer of 1968, specialists grabbed their heads.

During the first tests of this fragile device, covered with some kind of film, it turned out that all its main elements had serious, irreparable problems. The number of defects exceeded the expectations of NASA's biggest pessimists.

Of course, the model was refined and improved, tests after tests were carried out, and still many questions remained. In addition, no test at the test site can compare with what was to be experienced on the Moon. It was not possible to recreate the extreme conditions prevailing on this celestial body in any ground-based laboratory or even in low-Earth orbit. The astronauts were faced with an absolute vacuum, sudden temperature changes of several hundred degrees, hard cosmic radiation, impacts of tiny meteorites, and lunar dust penetrating everywhere.

On July 20, 1969, at 6:47 p.m. Central European Time, the descent module undocked from the orbiter and began its flight toward the lunar surface. At 21:05 the aircraft began to land. It was planned in the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Tranquility. 103 hours have passed since launch from Cape Kennedy.

Eighteen seconds later, Armstrong turned off the engine and got in touch:

Houston, destination - Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed.

At 21:17 a response was heard from the Mission Control Center:

I understand you. The people here are simply blue in the face. Now we can at least breathe easy.

However, Armstrong and Aldrin thought nothing of peace. With bated breath, they waited for further events. It was unclear how the surface of the Moon would react to the appearance of a device weighing two and a half tons. What if its supports fall into a crevasse or get stuck in moon dust? What if the stone bounces and punctures the fuel tank? How then to take off from the moon?

However, the astronauts faced a completely different emergency situation. Immediately after landing, they began pumping air out of the helium tank; in this case, helium, cooled to -268 ° C, penetrated into the fuel line. An ice plug formed in it. Meanwhile, the heat from the cooling engines warmed the fuel. The pressure in the fuel line, plugged by the ice plug, began to increase. If it burst, fuel would get into the engine and it would explode - the device would turn into a time bomb.

A whole half hour passed in tense anticipation of the explosion, until it became clear that the trouble was over. The wire withstood the load. The rising Sun melted the ice plug.

Finally, the astronauts began to prepare for their first walk on the Moon. Another surprise! Having donned bulky spacesuits and fastened the backpacks where the life support systems were located, they noticed a new mistake by the designers. The cabin, stuffed with instruments, was cramped for them. People in spacesuits felt here like the proverbial elephants driven into a china shop. Monitors, cables, and toggle switches stuck out everywhere. One wrong move and they would break something.

At 3:39 a.m. CET, Armstrong and Aldrin opened the hatch and left Eagle. What was waiting for them there?.. For billions of years, meteorites have been falling on the surface of the Moon. There is no atmosphere, so nothing stops their flight. At any moment, a bomb from the sky can penetrate the lunar shuttle.

According to scientists' calculations, if a hole with a diameter of up to twelve centimeters had formed in its casing, then the oxygen system could still maintain normal pressure for two minutes. This time would be enough to connect the spacesuits directly to the on-board life support system, unless, of course, the astronauts were injured at the moment of impact. It would be worse if the window glass broke. Both of these situations were practiced in preparation for the flight.

The same danger could await the astronauts on a walk. If a meteorite - say, a tiny pebble - had hit one of them, it would probably have pierced the spacesuit. After depressurization, one could live for only two minutes. This time would not be enough to run to the shuttle in a clumsy spacesuit, climb the stairs and squeeze into the narrow hatch. The astronaut has a chance of salvation if only the hole is less than three millimeters. In this case, the suit's emergency oxygen system will work for another half hour, maintaining normal pressure.

And still, even with such tiny damage, it will be difficult to escape. The victim needs to climb aboard the shuttle and turn on the pressure-injecting system. The second astronaut will remain outside and wait until a colleague repairs the suit. Only in this case can he return on board, because to do this, the pressure inside the cabin must be released again.

However, the walk was successful. The astronauts spent two and a half hours on the Moon. At 6:11 a.m. Central European Time they were back on board the Eagle and closed the hatch from the inside. Trouble awaited the astronauts on board the shuttle.

“I looked around and began to pack my things,” recalled Edwin Aldrin. - When I looked at the floor, I saw a small black thing. I immediately understood what it was...

It was a button. It's broken. Edwin looked up at the long row of buttons to see which one had gone off. It turned out that the one without which you can’t take off is the engine ignition button.

It was hard to believe! There were a couple hundred buttons and toggle switches on the dashboard. Of these, only one has broken - the most important one, which you cannot do without! While going for a walk, Aldrin touched that damn button with his bulky spacesuit. You can't turn on the engine without it!

I had to radio to Earth and report my mistake. Aldrin reported:

Houston, Tranquility Base. Can't figure out what position the engine ignition button is currently in?

Silence. The question is, of course, strange. Isn't it easier to look up? Then the following dialogue took place...

Aldrin: - The reason for my question: the button is broken.

Houston: - You are understood. Clear. Stay in touch please.

After which the note for the first time appears in the protocol: “Long pause.”

Everyone at Mission Control was shocked. The astronauts, however, experienced the same feeling. “Surely there are many other ways to turn on the engine ignition,” Aldrin convinced himself, “after all, without this function we cannot survive, so they must have duplicated it somehow.”

Besides, by clumsily turning and pressing the button, Aldrin could have already turned on the ignition. Then, all this time, while the astronauts were walking on the Moon, everything in the shuttle was ready for launch.

The seconds dragged on longer than the moonlit night. Finally a voice came through the speakers:

Tranquility Base, here in Houston. Telemetry data shows that the ignition button is currently in the "off" position. We ask that you leave it this way until you plan to turn it on.

Inclusions? How do you press a button that doesn't exist? The astronauts feverishly rushed to look for something they could use to press the rest of the button, which was entirely recessed in the niche. Found... The most expensive aircraft in the history of mankind was turned on using... a ballpoint pen. They poked it into the hole left after the button fell out.

Hell no! The engine never started. This engine had a bad reputation before. So, on September 1, 1965, during testing at the Arnold Engineering Development Center, the engine of this model exploded. At the end of April 1967, two more engines burned out during testing at the Bell Aerosystems Test Facility. “It must be admitted that this launch engine is the most criticized among the engines of the Saturn-Apollo program,” one of the NASA documents said quite frankly.

What to do if the engine still won't start? Commit suicide? There were rumors that the astronauts had capsules with poison with them, but this is just idle chatter, which is confirmed by the astronauts themselves: “There simply could not be a situation in which one should think about suicide. And even if so, anything could have happened.” maybe - there were ways to achieve this and it was easier than poisoning yourself with poison. For example, all you had to do was dump all the oxygen from the cabin, and it would all be over. The air would instantly tear your lungs apart, your blood would literally boil... The body would be in shock from this shock "I would have died easily and simply. In a couple of seconds it would all be over, an instant - and no pain."

“If an engine breaks down, astronauts, instead of thinking about death, should spend the remaining time fixing it,” Neil Armstrong said modestly. The problem was that we had to be in a hurry. Many shuttle systems were designed to last only 48 hours. The astronauts have already been on the Moon for 22 hours. This means that they only had 26 hours left to get to the ship flying around the Moon.

First the food will run out. On board the shuttle there would be enough for only two lunches and a couple of breakfasts. For the main meals there were ham, beef, chicken soup, date pies, muffins and peaches; for breakfast - dried fruits, two slices of bread, pate and sweets. The water supply was 209 liters. It was needed for drinking and for the cooling systems of the shuttle and spacesuits. Some of the water had already been used up, but there was still some reserve left. But - compared to water and electricity - there was plenty of oxygen.

What was worse was that soon there would be an excess of carbon dioxide. This gas is released during breathing, and if its content in the air increases to just one percent, a person will experience the first symptoms of poisoning. If this value increases to four percent, breathing and heartbeat will sharply increase, and the body will begin to become numb. The person will then lose consciousness. When carbon dioxide reaches nine percent, a person will die within five to ten minutes. At a concentration of 14 percent, the candle goes out. At 18 percent, a person dies almost instantly.

The service life of the filters protecting against carbon dioxide was exactly 49.5 hours. If you breathe very evenly and make as few movements as possible, you can extend their lifespan to seventy hours, that is, the astronauts had two more days of life left. In addition, you can use the filters available in spacesuits, because during the walk on the Moon only two filters out of six were used. This is another extra day of life. And if you reduce activity to a minimum, then maybe another thirty hours will be gained.

So, in total, all these filters were designed for 78 hours, or a little more than three days of operation. After this, the astronauts had only one thing left to do: put on their spacesuits and breathe the oxygen preserved in the emergency systems. This would extend life by a couple more hours. The astronauts could then breathe the air remaining in the cabin for some time. Carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen, so it will first accumulate at the bottom of the cabin, and then slowly spread upward. The astronauts would have to climb to the ceiling, waiting, as in Hollywood films, that they were about to be rescued. Alas, there was no hope for this.

Three days was too little to hold out until the arrival of the next expedition, which was scheduled for November 1969. It was impossible to prepare Apollo 12 for launch in just a couple of days, much less send it to the Moon. In addition, any other lunar shuttle simply could not take two extra astronauts on board - there were weight restrictions.

In the USSR, where they started their lunar project, they also could not immediately launch a ship to the Moon to save Armstrong and Aldrin, and the Soviet descent vehicles, again, would not have been able to take on board two extra passengers. The fate of NASA’s entire “lunar program,” this organization itself, and even the US government depended on the rescue of the astronauts. There was a "long pause" again in Houston. What about radio communications? What will the astronauts say when they learn that they are doomed to die? What damage will they cause to the country's prestige? What if, drunk on carbon dioxide, they start cursing those who sent them to the moon?

The Cold War was at its height, and it was fitting for the American astronauts to die as heroes. Therefore, in the text of the speech that Richard Nixon was supposed to give, there was a remark addressed only to “initiates.” NASA leaders were instructed to cut off communications with astronauts immediately after the president's address. "They have done their duty; they can rest in peace." Eternal rest to you, heroes!

But how to completely break the connection with the shuttle? NASA could turn off its receiving antennas, but it was impossible to disable the transmitters on board the lunar cabin. Thousands of radio amateurs around the globe were busy picking up signals from Eagle. Even before the launch of Apollo 11, many magazines reprinted the assembly diagram of the “lunar receiver”.

Even if the signals for help do not reach Earth, they will be heard by Michael Collins, the only crew member remaining on board the ship. He will certainly contact the Earth and report everything.

“I didn’t want to go home alone,” Collins later said in response to a question about what he intended to do if his comrades did not return, “but if ordered, I went back.” How to silence him after returning?

So, a major scandal was brewing. The authorities were going to conceal the emergency and cut off all communication with the astronauts. However, this idea was sharply criticized. It would cause irreparable harm to the American government. Neither the wives of the astronauts, nor the public would remain silent if they learned that the shuttle crew was abandoned to the mercy of fate and all contact with them was severed. This unseemly act would easily be recognized as an actual order to the crew to commit suicide, since, obviously, they were not going to save them. Suicide among the Puritans, who significantly influence the public opinion of America, remains an abhorrent act, and it is unacceptable to push anyone towards it.

One can only guess how the public would react to a memorial service for people still alive, who were dying a long, painful death at that very moment. Any of these insensitive and inhumane actions would certainly have electrified the nation and brought people to the streets.

On July 22, 1969, at 5:40 a.m. Central European Time, Armstrong and Aldrin opened the pyro-valves separating the helium and fuel tanks so that, under the pressure of compressed helium, the fuel rushed toward the engine. Typically, the pressure in helium tanks drops after this, and in fuel tanks it increases. However, the valve on the second helium tank did not seem to work. Aldrin reported:

We are not sure whether the engine received fuel from the second tank. The pressure in the helium tank is still very high.

Houston: - We confirm this. Try again!

Aldrin: - OK! We'll try again with the second tank.

Houston: - You are understood. We agree.

A little later, Aldrin said again:

No fire.

For a couple of minutes, uncertainty reigned. Finally, the pressure in the second helium tank dropped. Houston gave the command to prepare for the start. At 5 hours 57 minutes, the bolts between the shuttle and the landing stage of the apparatus, as well as the valves and wires connecting them, were cut off. A few milliseconds later, the engine finally started and the astronauts left the Moon. Their escape was successful.

Alexander Volkov.

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The moon is not a bad place. Definitely worth a short visit.
Neil Armstrong

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

Lunar epic

First the facts. 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 an American would land on the moon before the end of the decade. Having suffered 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 lag 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 the A-4 (V-2) missiles during the war, but did not give these projects serious development, believing that in a global war long-range bombers would be sufficient. Of course, Wernher von Braun's team, taken from 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-4, was modified to launch the first American spacecraft, 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 launch vehicles: from Titan-2, which launched the two-seat Gemini maneuvering spacecraft into orbit, to Saturn 5, capable of sending the three-seat Apollo spacecraft "to the Moon.

Redstone

Saturn-1B

Of course, before sending expeditions, a colossal amount of work was required. 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 vehicles made soft landings on the Moon and transmitted beautiful images of the surrounding area.

The Lunar Orbiter spacecraft carefully mapped the Moon, determining future landing sites for astronauts.

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

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

In December 1965, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 approached each other, simulating a docking. Moreover, the crew of the second ship spent more than thirteen days in orbit (that is, the full time of the lunar expedition), proving that the measures taken to maintain physical fitness are quite effective during such a long flight. The docking procedure was practiced on the ships Gemini 8, Gemini 9 and Gemini 10 (by the way, the commander of Gemini 8 was Neil Armstrong). 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 altitude of 1369 km). On Gemini 12, astronauts tested a series of manipulations in outer space.

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

At the same time, the designers were preparing the “intermediate” two-stage Saturn 1 rocket for testing. During its first launch on October 27, 1961, it surpassed the Vostok rocket in thrust, 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, there was a fire at the launch complex in which the crew of the ship died, and many plans had to be revised.

In November 1967, testing of the huge three-stage Saturn 5 rocket began. During its first flight, it lifted into orbit the Apollo 4 command and service module 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 almost ended in disaster due to a failure of the second stage, but the rocket pulled out the ship, demonstrating good survivability.

On October 11, 1968, the Saturn 1B rocket launched the command and service module of the Apollo 7 spacecraft with its crew into orbit. For ten days, the astronauts tested the ship, conducting 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 initially planned at all - a flight around the Moon.

The flight of Apollo 8 was not planned by NASA: it was an improvisation, but was carried out brilliantly, securing another historical priority for American astronautics

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

The crew of Apollo 10 conducted a “dress rehearsal”, performing all the operations necessary for landing on the Moon, but without landing itself

The Apollo 11 lunar module, named Eagle, is landing

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's lunar walk was broadcast through the Parkes Observatory radio telescope in Australia; the original recordings of the historical event were also preserved and recently discovered

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

Falsification theory

On the Luna-1 spacecraft, devices were installed to create an artificial sodium comet

It would seem that the reality of expeditions to the Moon should not have been in doubt. NASA regularly published press releases and newsletters, specialists and astronauts gave numerous interviews, many countries and the global scientific community participated in technical support, tens of thousands of people watched the takeoffs of huge rockets, and millions watched live television 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 instruments left on the Moon.

But even during that eventful time, people appeared who questioned the facts of the astronaut landing on the Moon. Skepticism towards space achievements appeared back in 1959, and the likely reason for this was the policy of secrecy pursued by the Soviet Union: for decades it even hid the location of its cosmodrome!

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

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

Claims arose later: for example, some Western journalists doubted 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 never expressed doubts about the authenticity of what happened: even during the flight of the first satellites, the National Security Agency (NSA) deployed two surveillance 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 an image of the astronaut, transmitted by an on-board camera. Within an hour, printouts of selected footage from the 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 Scientific Measuring Point No. 10 (NIP-10), located in the village of Shkolnoye near Simferopol, intercepted data coming from the Apollo spacecraft throughout the flights to the Moon and back.

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 made it possible to intercept all information from the Apollo missions, including live television broadcasts from the Moon. The head of the interception project, Alexey Mikhailovich Gorin, gave the author of this article an exclusive interview, in which, in particular, he said: “For guidance and control of a very narrow beam, a standard drive system in azimuth and elevation was used. Based on information about the location (Cape Canaveral) and launch time, the flight trajectory 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 Apollo landings from the 11th to the 15th... They took fairly clear images of the spacecraft on the Moon, the exit of both astronauts from it and the journey across the surface of the Moon. Video from the Moon, speech and telemetry were recorded on appropriate tape recorders and transmitted to Moscow for processing and translations.”

In addition to intercepting data, 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, intelligence officers 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 allowed to access official information on the ship and rocket. And, as is known, no complaints were made against the American side.

The Americans themselves had complaints. In 1970, that is, even before the completion of the lunar program, a brochure by a certain James Craney was published, “Has Man Landed on the Moon?” (Did man land on the Moon?). The public ignored the brochure, 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 “moon 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 the conspiracy theory. For example, the author seriously argued that all deaths of participants in the Saturn-Apollo program were associated with the elimination of unwanted witnesses. It must be said that Kaysing is the only author of books on this topic who was directly related to the space program: from 1956 to 1963, he worked as a technical writer at the Rocketdyne company, which was 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 previous employers. In the book, which was reprinted in 1981 and 2002, he argued that the Saturn V rocket was a "technical fake" and could never send astronauts on interplanetary flight, so in reality the Apollos flew around the Earth, and the television broadcast was carried out using unmanned vehicles.

Ralph Rene made a name for himself by accusing the US government of faking flights to the moon and organizing the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

At first, they also did not pay attention to Bill Kaysing’s creation. His fame was brought to him by the American conspiracy theorist Ralph Rene, who posed as a scientist, physicist, inventor, engineer and science journalist, but in reality did not graduate from a single 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 “research”, that is, he looked not like a loner, 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 television 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, fortunately 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 reprinted many times, each time increasing in volume.

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

The topic itself also begged for film adaptation, and soon films appeared with claims to be documentaries: “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: An Investigation into the Authenticity of the Moon Landing” 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 pestered Buzz Aldrin with aggressive demands to admit to deception and was eventually punched in the face by an elderly astronaut. Video footage of this incident can be found on YouTube. The police, by the way, refused to open a case against Aldrin. Apparently, she thought 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 that addressed Bill Kaysing’s claims. However, it soon became clear that they did not want dialogue, but were happy to use any mention of their fabrications for self-PR: for example, Kaysing sued astronaut Jim Lovell in 1996 for calling him a “fool” in one of his interviews.

However, what else can you call the 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 a 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 with a man similar to Stanley Kubrick surfaced, where he allegedly took responsibility for falsifying materials from lunar missions. The new fake was quickly exposed - it was done too clumsily.

Cover-up operation

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

Within the framework of the new theory, the “lunar conspiracy” is seen as a product of the activities of NASA itself, which deliberately provokes an illiterate discussion of the falsification of the lunar landings so that qualified researchers disdain to study this topic for fear of being branded as “marginal”. Hoagland deftly fit all modern conspiracy theories into his theory, from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to “flying saucers” and the Martian “Sphinx.” For his vigorous activity in exposing 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 “moon conspiracy” theory, or, more simply, “anti-Apollo” people, are very fond of accusing their opponents of illiteracy, ignorance, or even blind faith. A strange move, considering 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 law: an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence. An attempt to accuse space agencies and the global scientific community of falsifying materials of great importance to our understanding of the Universe must be accompanied by something more significant than a couple of self-published books published by an aggrieved writer and a narcissistic pseudo-scientist.

All hours of film footage from the lunar expeditions of the Apollo spacecraft 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 went: the designers of the “parallel” equipment, its testers and operators, as well as the filmmakers who prepared kilometers of films of the lunar missions. We are talking about thousands (or even tens of thousands) of people who needed to be involved in the “lunar conspiracy.” Where are they and where are their confessions? Let's say they all, including foreigners, swore an oath of silence. But there must remain piles of documents, contracts and orders with contractors, corresponding structures and testing grounds. However, apart from quibbles about some public NASA materials, which are indeed often retouched or presented in a deliberately simplified interpretation, there is nothing. Nothing at all.

However, “anti-Apollo” people never think about such “little things” and persistently (often in an aggressive form) demand more and more evidence from the opposite side. The paradox is that if they, asking “tricky” questions, tried to find answers to them themselves, it would not be difficult. Let's look at the most typical claims.

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

For example, “anti-Apollo” people ask: why was the Saturn-Apollo program interrupted and its technology lost and cannot be used today? The answer is obvious to anyone who has even a basic understanding of what was happening 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 war in Vietnam was draining resources; youth were swept by the anti-war movement; Richard Nixon was 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 dollars (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 became prohibitive for the shrinking American budget. The Soviet Union experienced something similar in the late 1980s, which led to the inglorious closure of the Energia-Buran program, the technologies of which were also largely lost.

In 2013, an expedition led by Jeff Bezos, the founder of the Internet company Amazon, recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean fragments of one of the F-1 engines of the Saturn 5 rocket that delivered Apollo 11 into orbit.

However, despite the problems, the Americans tried to squeeze a little more out of the lunar program: the Saturn 5 rocket launched the heavy orbital station Skylab (three expeditions visited it in 1973–1974), and 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 launch vehicle.

Working box with moon rocks in the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility storage

Another popular question: where did the lunar soil brought by astronauts go? Why isn't it being studied? Answer: it has not gone anywhere, but is stored where it was planned - in the two-story Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility building, which was built in Houston, Texas. Applications for soil studies should also be submitted there, but only organizations that have the necessary equipment can receive them. Every year a special commission reviews applications and approves from forty to 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.

Images of the landing sites of Apollo 11, Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 taken by LRO's main optical camera: 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 space films of the lunar landing sites, which were made by the American LRO apparatus and which “anti-Apollo” people also consider “fake”, then the materials presented by the Indians (the Chandrayaan-1 apparatus) are quite sufficient for analysis ), the Japanese (Kaguya) and the Chinese (Chang'e-2): all three agencies have officially confirmed that they have discovered traces left by the Apollo spacecraft.

"Moon deception" in Russia

By the end of the 1990s, the “moon conspiracy” theory came to Russia, where it gained ardent supporters. Its wide popularity is obviously 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 beliefs, noted for historical revisionism. In particular, he published the book “The Corrupt Wench 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 is repulsive with its deliberate rudeness, and he builds his conclusions on the basis of rather primitive distortions.

TV 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 footage taken by the astronauts and came to the conclusion that they were fabricated. True, for testing he used his own studio and equipment, which has nothing in common with NASA equipment of the late 1960s. Based on the results of the “investigation,” Elkhov wrote the book “Fake Moon,” which was never published due to lack of funds.

Perhaps the most competent of the Russian “anti-Apollo activists” 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 presents 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 has now agreed that not only the Apollo flights, but also the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft were falsified. Thus, Popov claims that the Americans made their first flight into orbit only in April 1981 - on the Columbia shuttle. Apparently, the respected physicist does not understand that without extensive previous experience, it is simply impossible to launch such a complex reusable aerospace system as the Space Shuttle the first time.

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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 persistent, and not even Buzz Aldrin's hook can change the situation. We can only hope for time and new flights to the Moon, which will inevitably put everything in its place.

Along with the pseudoscientific theories, mystical and mystical-religious teachings that have spread in the post-perestroika years, flourishing on TV screens and on the pages of the media by “magicians”, “sorcerers”, “sorcerers”, “foretellers”, “healers”... the attack on science is also coming from on the other hand: publications are being distributed in which attempts are made to disavow real scientific and scientific-technical achievements of the past. Today, a countless number of “subverters” of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics have appeared, not to mention creationists, the most zealous of whom “subvert” all scientific achievements “en masse.” Such “subverters” did not escape achievements in the field of space exploration. Particularly “lucky” was the expedition to the Moon under the Apollo program, carried out by the United States in July 1969. Publications appear in the tabloid press, the authors of which present the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft with astronauts, landing on the Moon, and the astronauts’ exit to the surface The moons and the return of the ship to Earth in the form of a grandiose hoax, a theatrical show produced in Hollywood and thrown onto television screens and newspaper pages. Today there are many supporters of this point of view. Some of them, especially people of the younger generation, can be understood: for them this is “a legend from ancient times.” And legends, as is well known, do not always tell about real events, sometimes about fictitious ones.

Feather and hammer. Experiment on the Moon

Below are two notes from the magazine “Science and Life” for 1969. The first tells about the flight of the Apollo 8 spacecraft with three astronauts, who, half a year before the launch of Apollo 11, flew around the Moon without landing on its surface. The second describes the actual flight of Apollo 11, landing on the surface of the Moon and returning to Earth. The parsimoniousness with which both flights are described is noteworthy. One feels that the country's leading popular science magazine was forced in every possible way to gloss over this truly epoch-making achievement of American science and technology. This is especially clearly seen in the first note, which ends with a review of the flights of Soviet automatic lunar probes, as if trying to equalize the achievements of both sides. There is no doubt that the flights of automatic vehicles with landing on the Moon, collecting lunar soil and returning to Earth are a huge achievement in the exploration of the Moon, but still it pales significantly even in comparison with the preparatory flight of Apollo 8. And if Soviet ideologists had the opportunity not to mention the Apollo program at all, then this is exactly what would have been done. And if there was even the slightest reason to accuse the “ideological enemy” of falsification, then such falsification would be inflated to incredible proportions! But, apparently, there was no reason, despite the fact that in those days “ideological opponents” monitored every, even the smallest, step of the opposite side by all available means: diplomatic, intelligence, technical... All video materials obtained both through official means, and in various other ways, radio interception materials, observations of space tracking stations and astronomical observatories. And - no clues!

There is only one conclusion: the assumption that using the entire arsenal of these means, the relevant services of the “great power” were unable to distinguish a real flight to the Moon from a Hollywood movie fake, seems completely absurd. Without a doubt, such a forgery would have been immediately exposed and very effectively used by the then government of the USSR for ideological purposes.

CHRONICLE OF THE SPACE AGE

One of the brightest space events of the past year was the flight of the American manned spacecraft Apollo 8. Its launch took place in the early morning of December 21 from Cape Kennedy and was an important milestone in the Apollo program. This program provides for the landing of astronauts on the Moon and their subsequent return to Earth. The first exploration work under the Apollo program began about 10 years ago, and since 1961 the program has been implemented at an accelerated pace. Approximately half of all funds allocated to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are spent on work under this program. The total appropriations for the Apollo program exceeded $20 billion.

In some periods, out of 411 thousand people employed in implementing NASA programs, about 300 thousand people participated in the Apollo program, including approximately 40 thousand scientists and engineers. In the United States, the question of the advisability of spending so much effort and money on the Apollo program was repeatedly raised (the problem was considered not only in scientific, but also in military, economic and political aspects).

For some characterization of the various stages of the planned flight to the Moon, approximate calculated data on the total fuel consumption of rocket engines of various stages and blocks (as a percentage of the total consumption) are given: launch of the last stage of the launch vehicle with the spacecraft into the intermediate orbit of the Earth satellite - about 96%; transition to the flight path to the Moon - 3%; transition to lunar orbit - 0.5%; landing on the Moon - 0.25%; take-off from the Moon - 0.06%, departure from lunar orbit towards the Earth - 0.15%.

In this experiment, the main unit was launched into a selenocentric orbit and maneuvered in this orbit (transition from an elliptical orbit to an almost circular one), as well as leaving a lunar orbit towards the Earth. All these maneuvers were carried out using the main, so-called propulsion engine of the Apollo 8 spacecraft, which is designed for 50 starts and a total operating time of 750 seconds. According to calculations, by the way, confirmed by the Apollo 8 flight, the need for the main engine to operate is as follows: to correct the trajectory during a flight to the Moon - up to 60 seconds (three corrections of 15 - 20 seconds each); transfer of the ship to selenocentric orbit - 400 seconds; descent of the main unit from selenocentric orbit - 150 seconds; correction of the main unit on the middle section of the flight path to the Earth - up to 60 (three corrections of 15 - 20 seconds each).

All three cosmonauts (in the USA they are called astronauts) who were part of the Apollo 8 crew - Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders - are professional military pilots. The first two of them were 40 years old at the time of the flight, the third was 35. All three have higher education, and Anders also has a Master of Science in nuclear physics. But unlike his two colleagues, he had not previously flown on spacecraft, while Borman and Lovell had already flown on the Geminai-VII satellite, and Lovell had also flown on the Geminai-XII satellite.

The flight to the Moon and successful return to Earth required great courage and skill from the astronauts. In particular, the two most critical maneuvers - entering and leaving the selenocentric orbit - were carried out with manual control and without “hints” from the Earth - the spacecraft during these maneuvers was above the invisible side of the Moon, and communication with the flight directors was interrupted (Moon was a screen blocking the path of Apollo radio signals to Earth). During the flight from Apollo 8, 5 television sessions were conducted, broadcast over a ground-based network. The image transmitted from the ship had the following parameters: 320 lines at 10 frames per second.

The Apollo 8 spacecraft was launched onto a flight path to the Moon by a three-stage Saturn V rocket. The entire flight lasted a little more than six days, and the ship was in lunar orbit for about 20 hours.

The launch of Apollo 8 took place on the very eve of a unique anniversary - a decade of lunar exploration using spacecraft. These studies began with the Soviet space station Luna 1 (January 1959). This was followed by numerous experiments, each more interesting than the other: the first “hit” on the Moon, delivery of a Soviet pennant to its surface (“Luna-2”, September 1959); flyby of the Moon followed by approaching the Earth to 10,000 km, photographing the far side of the Moon (“Luna-3”, October 1959); a similar program with more detailed photography of the Moon (Zond-3, 1965); television broadcasts when the automatic station approaches the Moon up to a distance of 1 km (“Ranger”, 1964, 1966); the first soft landing of an automatic station on the Moon and television transmission from the landing area (“Luna-9”, 1966); the first launch of an automatic station into orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon (“Luna-10”, 1966). The most important events in lunar exploration occurred in 1968. These are the first flights of the Moon with the return to Earth by the Soviet automatic stations Zond-5 and Zond-6 and, finally, by the American manned spacecraft Apollo 8. This latest flight, which was watched with interest and excitement by millions of people around the world, is undoubtedly an important contribution to human exploration of outer space.

Apollo 11 crew (from left to right): N. Armstrong, M. Collins, E. Aldrin

EXPEDITION TO THE MOON

Engine of the lunar compartment take-off stage

On July 16, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from one of the launch complexes at the Cape Kennedy spaceport using a Saturn 5 launch vehicle. His crew: ship's commander Neil Armstrong, aeronautical engineer and test pilot; Air Force Col. Edwin Aldrin, PhD in Astronautics; Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Collins. This crew had to solve the main and, in fact, the final task of the entire ten-year Apollo program (see “Science and Life” No. 3 and No. 8, 1969) - to land a man on the surface of the Moon.

Some important elements of astronauts' flight to and return from the Moon are illustrated by simplified diagrams in the figure below. Initially, the spacecraft, together with the third stage of the launch vehicle (TCP), was launched (total weight about 140 tons) into a relatively low Earth orbit. On the second orbit, the propulsion system of the third stage was turned on again, which worked for 5.5 minutes and, having consumed more than 70 tons of fuel, brought this stage along with the ship (total weight about 45 tons) onto the flight path to the Moon. Soon, the so-called rearrangement of the ship's compartments was carried out - from the position most convenient for the launch of the rocket (1), they were rearranged to the position necessary for subsequent operations. To do this, the main block of the spacecraft moved away from the third stage of the launch vehicle (2), turned (3) 180 degrees, returned back (4) to the third stage and docked to the lunar compartment so that its take-off stage was directly connected to the crew compartment main block. (An Apollo-type spacecraft consists of a main block and a lunar compartment, which is sometimes called a module, capsule, etc., the main block, in turn, consists of two separated compartments - the crew compartment OE and the propulsion compartment OD; lunar compartment also consists of two separable stages - landing PS and take-off aircraft). After the rebuild, the connecting adapter was discarded and Apollo 11 separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle (4).

The first step to the Moon and the astronauts near the lunar compartment (pictures taken from a TV screen)

The transition to lunar orbit (5) was carried out using a propulsion engine, which was installed in the OD. Having made several orbits around the lunar orbit, the astronauts carefully checked all the ship's systems. After this, N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin crossed into the aircraft through the internal hatch, and the lunar compartment separated from the main block (6), where only Collins remained. The lunar compartment entered an elliptical orbit with a perihelion of about 15 kilometers, and then, using the landing stage engine, made a soft landing on the surface of the Moon (7), using up almost all the fuel intended for this (about 8 tons). The final selection of the landing site was one of the most difficult and dangerous operations, since many very large stones and a crater the size of a stadium were noticed in the previously planned area. However, Armstrong, using the manual controls of the lunar compartment, was able to find a level surface, despite the extremely limited time, and the landing went flawlessly.

Landing and take-off stages of the lunar compartment

After landing on the moon, the astronauts, according to the program, were supposed to sleep for several hours. However, this point of the program was not “fulfilled”: the astronauts could not rest peacefully, being a few steps from the surface of the Moon, and with the consent of the Mission Control Center, after a thorough check of individual life support systems, they began to exit the ship. N. Armstrong was the first to set foot on the lunar surface. This happened on July 21, 1969 at 5 hours 56 minutes 20 seconds Moscow time. After 20 minutes, E. Aldrin arrived on the surface of the Moon.

The astronauts traveled on the Moon for 2 hours and 40 minutes, and in total the lunar compartment was on the Moon for about a day. Leaving the landing stage of the PS on the Moon, N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin launched on the take-off stage of the aircraft (8). Its engine, having consumed several tons of fuel, launched the aircraft into lunar orbit and allowed it to dock with the main block of the ship located there (9). After the docking and return of the two lunar travelers to the crew compartment, the take-off stage (10) was reset. Then followed the final stages of the flight - transition with the help of the main engine to the flight path to the Earth (11), flight to the Earth, separation of the OE from the OD (12) and the final stage - entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, braking of the OE, parachute descent (13) and splashdown. The flight of Apollo 11 is an outstanding technical achievement, and the fact that man walked on the Moon symbolizes the gigantic achievements of modern science and technology. The ship's commander, Neil Armstrong, figuratively said this when he had just stepped on the surface of the Moon: “One small step by man is a giant step by mankind.”

Space has always been that space that attracts with its proximity and inaccessibility. Humans are explorers by nature, and curiosity is the progress of civilization, both in technical concepts and in expanding self-awareness. The first landing of man on the Moon strengthened confidence that we are capable of interplanetary flights.

Earth satellite

The Russian name of the cosmic body “Moon” translated from Proto-Slavic means “bright”. It is a natural satellite of our planet and its closest celestial body. The ability to reflect sunlight onto the earth's surface makes the Moon the second brightest object in the sky. There are two opinions about the origin: the first says about the simultaneous emergence with the Earth, the second says that the satellite was formed in another place, but was subsequently captured by the earth's gravity.

The existence of a satellite provokes the appearance of special effects on our planet. For example, by the force of its gravity, the Moon can control water spaces. Due to its size, it takes on some of the meteorite attacks, which to some extent protects the Earth.

Initial research

The first landing of a man on the Moon is the result of American curiosity and the country's intention to overtake the USSR in the pressing issue of space exploration. For many millennia, humanity has been observing this celestial body. The invention of the telescope by Galileo in 1609 made the visual method of studying the satellite more progressive and accurate. Hundreds of years have passed since then until people decided to send the first unmanned vehicle to a cosmic body. And Russia was one of the first here. On September 13, 1959, a robotic spacecraft named after the satellite landed on the surface of the Moon.

The year of the first man landing on the Moon was 1969. Exactly 10 years later, American astronauts opened new horizons for the development of civilization. Thanks to more detailed research, interesting facts about the birth and structure of the satellite were discovered. This, in turn, made it possible to change the hypothesis of the origin of the Earth itself.

American expedition

The Apollo 11 spacecraft began its flight on July 16. The crew consisted of three astronauts. The goal of the expedition was the first landing of a man on the Moon. The ship flew to the satellite for four days. And already on July 20, the module landed on the territory of the Sea of ​​Tranquility. The group stayed in the southwestern part of the region for a certain period of time: more than 20 hours. The very presence of people on the surface lasted 2 hours 31 minutes. On July 24, the crew returned to Earth, where they were kept in quarantine for several days: lunar microorganisms were never found among the astronauts.

• A survey conducted in 1976 of statistical American residents.
• A video of astronauts training on an earth base, which bears a fantastic resemblance to the video filmed on the satellite.
• Modern image analysis using a photo editor, where inaccurate shadow episodes are identified.
• Himself Some scientists were the first to suggest that tissue cannot develop in conditions of lunar gravity due to the lack of wind.
• There are no stars in photographs “from the moon”.
• Edwin Aldrin refused to swear on the Bible that he walked onto the surface of a celestial body.

Supporters of the landing found natural explanations for all the accusations. For example, that retouching was used on photographs to improve the quality for publication, and the ripples on the flag are not from the wind, but from the actions of the astronaut who sets the flag. The original recording has not survived, which means that the fact of the first step on the Earth’s satellite will remain a controversial issue.

Russia had its own unpleasant incident in the year the first people landed on the Moon. The USSR government did not consider it necessary to inform the residents of the country about the American event. Although the Russian ambassador was invited, he did not show up for the Apollo 11 launch. The reason he cited was his business trip on important government affairs.

Hypotheses and misconceptions that modern people should know about Tribis Elena Evgenievna

Americans didn't go to the moon

Americans didn't go to the moon

Sensation seekers consider the biggest myth of the past century to be the US lunar space program, which ended with the landing of astronauts in 1969 on the natural satellite of our planet. Quite unexpectedly, 30 years after the significant date, the Americans themselves began to accuse the military that the flight to the Moon was invented by them from beginning to end. Wanting to at least in some way get ahead of the Soviet cosmonautics, the American military staged a brilliant performance with a triumphant apotheosis in front of ordinary Americans.

A superpower conquers another cosmic body, thereby transporting all of humanity into the future. A supposedly new stage in the development of civilization begins, and television viewers enthusiastically look at the scenes filmed on the stage of the great Hollywood illusion workshop, depicting the activities of the first astronauts on the Moon. The press and the Internet are replete with sensational revelations, each of which is worth the other. For the most part, the revelations look very scientific.

Some outraged Americans, having conducted their own investigation, publish books dedicated to the lunar epic, which instantly become bestsellers. In our country there are much more supporters of whistleblowers than in the West. Since the lunar program was the only significant achievement of the United States in the space field, refuting this supposed American success will only increase pride in our own achievements.

Apollo landing sites on the lunar surface

Of course, it’s nice to imagine that the successes of the domestic cosmonautics could not be surpassed by other states. However, it is necessary to carefully examine whether humanity has truly never visited the Moon. First, let's get acquainted with the official data on human flights to our natural satellite.

The US lunar program was realized thanks to the construction and successful testing of a series of 17 Apollo spacecraft. The spacecraft were designed to carry humans into lunar orbit, as well as to deliver them to the lunar surface. Each Apollo apparatus, designed for the lunar landing, accommodated a crew of three astronauts and consisted of two units - the orbital and landing compartments. The first compartment had a mass of about 27 tons, and the landing compartment, which could accommodate only two astronauts, weighed about 15 tons.

The spaceships were carried into low-Earth orbit, from where they launched to the Moon, using three-stage Saturn-5 rockets specially designed for this purpose, which are by far the most massive and powerful launch vehicles in the history of technology. The thrust force of these 110-meter rockets reached 4.4 million kg, and the launch mass of each device was 2700–3000 tons.

Ships numbered 1-10 were test ships, some of them were not even piloted, but were intended to test the technique of launching such a large mass into low-Earth orbit. Our natural satellite was visited by the Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 expeditions. The first expedition to land on the lunar surface was the flight of Apollo 11 under the command of N. Armstrong, which took place on July 16–21, 1969. In December 1972, the last American flight to the Moon took place. The captain of Apollo 17, H. Schmidt, landed on the surface of the satellite.

American astronauts carried out a large amount of research work. In particular, they brought to Earth over 380 kg of rock samples, took 13 thousand photographs of the lunar surface, installed a seismograph, corner reflectors, foil for catching cosmic ray particles and a lot of other equipment on the satellite, tested new types of equipment (measuring instruments, a light lunar mobile and battery-powered self-propelled device).

Astronauts A. Bean and C. Conrad discovered and delivered to Earth a camera from the Surveyor, which had been on the Moon for two years by that time. When examining a camera in the laboratory, an terrestrial streptococcus bacterium was discovered that survived the harsh conditions on the satellite. This discovery brought new ideas about the properties of living matter and the possibilities of the distribution of organisms in the Universe.

Photographs and film taken by astronauts on the Moon are one of the most significant evidence that the fantastic odyssey did take place. However, it is photographs and film materials that raise serious doubts. Some scientists and engineers believe that they are dealing with fakes filmed in a specially equipped pavilion. The filming was most likely carried out in Hollywood, where all the necessary equipment for such work is available. But, as the whistleblowers decided, the hoaxers did not take into account something.

Firstly, the image in the frame does not twitch, although it should, as is always the case when shooting on Earth. Secondly, the American flag fluttered on the Moon, which could not have happened, since the satellite has no atmosphere at all, and therefore there are no winds. Thirdly, the world-famous trace of the astronaut Conrad could not have been left in the lunar soil. The soil on the Moon is dry, and it will not create the kind of imprint that can only be obtained by stepping in the mud. Fourth, the technically incredibly complex and expensive lunar program was implemented in record time.

For movement on the lunar surface, a special vehicle was developed - the lunar mobile.

Probably, American astronauts simply went into orbit, and several automatic probes were sent to the Moon to collect rock samples. The same probes dropped corner reflectors onto the satellite. This is, in general terms, a criticism of the facts presented to the public as evidence of the US implementation of the lunar program.

These statements should not be believed, since their purpose is to arouse the interest of potential readers of exposé books. There has never been a publication devoted to the lunar program that did not become a bestseller. Therefore, criticism is based on sober economic calculations. It is extremely easy to refute the statements of whistleblowers if you collect and independently study all available materials on the Apollo flights.

Of course, technically and economically it was extremely difficult to implement the lunar program. However, it is completely unrealistic to implement two programs at once, which the whistleblowers are talking about. Americans in the late 1960s. did not have the financial and technical means to simultaneously send several expeditions into low-Earth orbit and simultaneously launch automatic probes to the Moon. In addition, the probes were required to perform a large amount of work. The machines had to precisely install corner reflectors in a given location, from which American and Soviet scientists used lasers to measure the distance between the Moon and our planet. Next, the machines had to install a seismograph and collect 380 kg of lunar soil samples. But this is technically impossible; only one person can handle such a large volume of work.

The Americans worked closely with the Soviet Union, exchanging soil samples and photographs, so our specialists had the opportunity to verify the reliability of the materials collected by the astronauts. Our scientists conducted experiments with soil received from the Americans and compared samples with those delivered by our Lunas. By that time, the USSR had accumulated a lot of photographic materials that depicted the lunar surface. Comparing these photographs with American ones, scientists would certainly notice a fake. In addition, in those days Hollywood did not have computer graphics technology, so any photo montage would certainly look clumsy. Moreover, scientists from different countries carefully studied the resulting image and carried out various assessments and measurements.

Let us note in passing that the flight of each Apollo was carefully documented, so any stage of the space program is accessible to the study of specialists. It was simply impossible to compile such extensive, rigorous, technically competent and scientifically complete film, photo and paper documentation.

The astronaut's footprint would have remained in the ground in any case, since lunar regolith is a very loose rock. Under earthly conditions, it would immediately crumble if a person walked over it, and turn into swirling dust. However, there is no air on the natural satellite of our planet, which is why the regolith there does not generate dust and does not fly away in different directions when a person walks over it.

As for the absence of a dancing image in the frame, it was impossible to obtain it, since the astronauts filmed by installing cameras using special mounts on the chest part of the spacesuit. The flag also behaved correctly, although there really is no wind on the Moon. Any material unwrapped in a low-gravity vacuum begins to squirm and twitch. The flag fluttered for several seconds, after which it straightened and froze motionless. The rest of the materials behaved exactly the same. Wires, cables, cords, wrappings were bent under the influence of an imbalance of external and internal forces, then froze in the cold.

American astronaut N. Armstrong during his stay on the Moon

Debunkers of the myth about the flight to the Moon indicate that the lunar program proceeded smoothly and without interference, although the level of technology at that time did not allow for such smooth and well-coordinated operation of the devices. In fact, these statements are false. The program did not run as smoothly as some people imagine. Suffice it to remember that during a test flight in 1967, a fire occurred on board the ship due to an electrical fault, which claimed the lives of all crew members. As a result, the lunar program was suspended for a year. Worse, the military and Congress had been planning for some time to shut it down altogether.

The flight of Apollo 13, which lived up to its unlucky number, was unsuccessful. Its crew was never able to land on the surface of the satellite due to technical malfunctions. During the return to Earth, the crew of the ill-fated ship almost died due to technical problems. Fortunately, none of the astronauts were injured this time.

It should be noted that throughout the implementation of the lunar program by the Americans, our country, using technical means, monitored the Apollo flights. Domestic scientists and engineers in the field of astronautics were analyzing data on how the grandiose space campaign was proceeding. Therefore, if you deny the American flight to the Moon, then it is necessary to refute all Soviet space programs at the same time. First of all, we will have to declare that the flights of automatic stations of the Zond and Luna series, the program for the use of lunar rovers and other actions are a hoax.

Newspaper rumors should not be taken as reliable information. It is interesting that just a year (in 1996) after the colossal scandal about the “imaginary” flight of Americans to the Moon, a new fairy tale appeared in the same America. While our country is pondering the old Western sensation, in the United States newspapers have long been discussing the version that the Russians were the first to fly to the Moon in order to conduct some secret experiments or repair lunar rovers.

Our country needed to keep the Cyclopean project secret because the task was allegedly carried out by suicide bomber astronauts who were not destined to return to Earth. American astronauts even saw the skeletons of their Soviet colleagues while traveling on the Moon. This version, in the best traditions of “Russian space mysteries,” falls apart from a single critical arrow. There are no decay bacteria on the Moon, so a human corpse there cannot rot and turn into a skeleton. The publishers of the “yellow press” created a new fable, exactly the opposite of the first. Of course, none of these exciting stories can be trusted.

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Give me the moon! The decision to go to the Moon was made not by President Kennedy, as it might seem from his speech, but directly by NASA after a man named George M. Low put pressure on his internal commission (15, p. 65). It was the same tail that wagged

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Donatas Banionis: “We were waiting for the Americans to land...” Donatas Banionis is one of the favorite actors of the then Soviet audience. Cult films “Nobody Wanted to Die”, “Beware of the Car”, “King Lear”, “Low Season”, “Solaris”... In total - about seventy

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15. Americans in Lausanne The Grammen company sent its engineers to Lausanne to oversee the construction of the mesoscape. Two of them, Don Terrana and Al Kuhn, helped us oversee every step of the production of the body and all the equipment of the PX-15. Growing up in Texas,

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Retreat two From a cannon to the moon! Who among us as a child did not read the novels of the wonderful French science fiction writer Jules Verne? Leafing through the plump volumes, we, together with his heroes, plunged into the depths of the World Ocean, conquered the air spaces, strived for

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“Americans in Paris” The pavilion was buzzing with voices. Surprised, enthusiastic exclamations broke through the measured sound of the announcer's text at the demonstration stands: “Tre zenteresan!”, “Regarde vu!”, “Manifik!”, “Colossal!” Plakhin stood gloomily next to the beautiful,

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TRIP TO THE MOON Leopold and Melanie Wyler had long dreamed of having a daughter. In 1900, their first son was born, and now, as they believed, it was time for a daughter to appear. Everything was prepared for her, even the beautiful name Camilla was written in calligraphy in advance