Lost space technologies. Why don't we go to the moon anymore? Flying to the moon is prohibited! By whom? Is it possible to fly to the moon

The deeper the first human flights to the Moon go into history, the more myths and gossip about them arise. More and more sites are appearing on the Internet, the authors of which, with manic zeal, are trying to prove that there was no such event as the CONQUEST OF THE MOON by PEOPLE in the history of the twentieth century, and the APOLLO spaceships either did not fly anywhere or carried robots (shod in the boots of astronauts) to the Moon. . We are offered to consider photographs and videos of people on the Moon to be fakes fabricated in Hollywood. As a response to the muddy stream of lies, slander and vile fabrications addressed to the Heroes of Space, who conquered the Moon, as an outpost of historical truth, as a tribute to the feat of NASA astronauts, I, cropman, created this site.

Historical reference: In May 1961, US President John Kennedy, speaking in Congress, set a task for his country: to deliver the first people to the Moon and return them back to Earth. Two years later, a vile killer cut short the earthly path of this great dreamer. But the daring Apollo project, which had gained momentum by that time, could no longer be stopped; the Americans continued to stubbornly and persistently solve the task set by President Kennedy. Neither technical difficulties nor the death of the Apollo 1 crew during ground tests in January 1967 stopped them. On July 20, 1969, they landed the first humans on the Moon and then successfully returned them to Earth. The age-old dream of mankind has come true! The first people on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. Then the Americans carried out five more successful lunar expeditions.

This site contains a collection of direct and indirect evidence,
and any evidence to support the statement:

1. For a space flight (successful or not) in the USSR, cosmonauts were awarded the title “Hero of the USSR.” Neil Armstrong flew into space on March 16, 1966 on the Gemini 8 spacecraft. Edwin Aldrin flew into space on November 11, 1966 on the Gemini 12 spacecraft. No one has ever disputed these flights (around the Earth), and if we do not have double morals, then we should consider Armstrong and Aldrin to be Heroes. Many astronauts also traveled to space before joining the Apollo program. Question: can Heroes “part-time” be swindlers, swindlers, forgers, scammers who have deceived gullible and naive humanity? And not individual individuals, but the entire squad of astronauts, without exception, without exception. You have to be an amputee of conscience to answer - yes, they can. It has long been noted that those who constantly suspect other people of meanness, as a rule, are scoundrels themselves. “Every scoundrel,” said V.V. Stasov, “always suspects other people of some kind of baseness.”

2. Everyone knows that lying is bad, but many Americans are believers. For them, lying is excluded in principle - violation of the ninth commandment, for which the Lord can condemn to eternal torment in hell. Therefore, for me personally, the words of one believer Edwin Aldrin weigh more than the words of all the atheists and nihilists who are not afraid of either sin or God’s judgment, which for some reason are all the would-be NASA whistleblowers I know.

3. 36 thousand NASA specialists and 376 thousand contract workers directly or indirectly participated in the Apollo program, and to this day none of them have admitted or repented of lying. But the conspirators must be small in number, otherwise information leakage is inevitable and the conspiracy is doomed to failure. More than four hundred thousand is a completely absurd number of participants for a successful scam. How did it happen that among the thousands of scoundrels who deceived gullible humanity, not a single traitor was found? The absence of at least one repentant conspirator (lunar Snowden) is a gaping hole in the “lunar conspiracy” hypothesis.

4. The authors of the Apollo program are scientists, subjects of Science. These are people of a special kind, they have their own system of fundamental values ​​and priorities (where honor and conscience do not come last). A real scientist is as alien to Mammon as the mathematician Grigory Perelman (who rejected a million dollars). No one can put together such people into a cohesive team of liars, swindlers, scammers (authors of the greatest hoax).

5. Falsification of flights to the Moon had no chance of success, because at the same time as Apollo, Soviet machine guns flew to the Moon. The Soviet Union could inspect any of the American landing sites on the Moon. AMS Luna-15 landed on the Moon at the same time as Apollo 11, Lunokhod-2 landed on the Moon just near Apollo 17 (~175 km). It makes no sense to start a scam that has absolutely no PROTECTION from discovery. Even a pickpocket at the market will not pick someone else's pocket, knowing that he is being watched, that he is being guarded. It's better to be left without prey than to be caught.

6. Falsification of flights to the Moon could only have TEMPORARY success. Footprints on the Moon remain unchanged for a million years. Sooner or later the secret will become apparent and then what? A national disgrace, the damage from which will be several orders of magnitude greater than the size of the prize money for winning the lunar race? Weren't NASA leaders aware of Abraham Lincoln's postulate: "You can fool some people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time"? Falsification must be immortal (and Lincoln forbade this) or not be born at all.

7. Did the Americans really need a victory in the lunar race? Did they have nothing else to soothe their wounded pride? They are already first in science (in terms of the number of Nobel laureates), first in economics (in terms of gross national product), first in sports (in terms of the number of Olympics won). Well, they wouldn’t have been able to become the first on the Moon, since Mars and the entire solar system are ahead, they will find something to recoup on. Is it worth risking your reputation for the sake of some Moon? Whistleblowers are clearly exaggerating the degree of motivation of the “lunar swindlers.” It was wiser for the United States to pass the next stage of the space race (well, they passed several stages before that) than to go for an insanely risky forgery.

8. By the way, whistleblowers cannot clearly explain why the falsifiers “overslept” such prestigious space achievements as: the launch of the first satellite, the flight into space of the first living creature, the flight there of the first man and the first woman? Why were flights to the Moon, which are the most difficult to fake, targeted for falsification? Where were the counterfeiters with their Hollywood before? It was obviously easier and thousands of times cheaper to fake a person’s first exit into open space, For example. And 2 months before Apollo 11, Apollo 10 flew to the Moon. Why didn’t the “swindlers” during that flight announce the landing of people on the Moon? Instead, they risked losing priority by allowing Luna 15 to be the first to deliver lunar soil to Earth. They couldn't have known in advance that it would crash...

9. Addressing the UN General Assembly on September 20, 1963, President John Kennedy formally and publicly invited Soviet Union join the United States to jointly implement an expedition to the Moon. I believe that by rejecting this invitation, the Russians, who at that time were ahead of America “by several laps” in the space competition, deprived themselves of the moral right to audit the results of the lunar race at its end.

10. On the contrary, citizens of the Soviet Union have every right to share the triumph of the winners of the lunar race, because without the participation of their country in this race, there would be no people on the moon to this day. It was the USSR’s primacy in space achievements in the era of the first space flights, which hurt the pride of the Americans and forced them to implement the Apollo program, which was clearly ahead of its time, to return to the United States the primacy it had temporarily lost in scientific and technical achievements. We should not deny flights to the Moon, but be proud of them - without our participation they would not have taken place. That is why in the title of this web page I wrote “People” and not “Americans” flew to the Moon.

11. NASA is actually proving its worth, “in splendid isolation” (after the collapse of the USSR) by exploring solar system. Mars and Venus, the Jupiter system and the Saturn system have already been explored, recently the Messenger probe began researching Mercury, and the Down probe, having examined the asteroid Vesta, went to Ceres and is exploring it. Finally, the New Horizons probe reached Pluto. It is not surprising that it was NASA that delivered the first people to the Moon. This is just one, in a series of others, space achievement of the Americans. Now, if the Republic of Burkina Faso had announced a flight to the moon for its citizens, I think understandable doubts would have arisen, even despite the translation of the name of this African country (Homeland of Honest People).

12. There are scientific instruments on the Moon - laser corner reflectors, seismometers that record moonquakes, equipment for measuring solar wind, detecting traces of the atmosphere and measuring heat flow from the bowels of the Moon. Astronomers and selenologists from many countries around the world worked with these devices for a long time (until 1978). Laser corner reflectors are still available for lunar location experiments today. These scientific instruments are located exactly at the declared landing sites of the Apollo lunar modules. There is no reason to doubt that they were brought there by members of lunar expeditions.

13. During six lunar expeditions, astronauts delivered to Earth about 380 kilograms of lunar soil, which, due to the conditions of its formation (vacuum, cosmic radiation, micrometeorites), cannot be faked. Samples of lunar soil were transferred for study to scientists from many countries around the world, and research reports on these samples were published in scientific journals. For example, on April 13, 1972, NASA representatives visited the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The transfer of samples of lunar soil delivered by the crew of Apollo 15 took place in exchange for samples of lunar soil delivered by the Luna 20 station.

14. American scientists who examined the lunar soil delivered by the crew of Apollo 11 discovered minerals unknown at that time on Earth. And only 14 months later, Soviet soil appeared (delivered by the automatic soil sampling station Luna-16) with the same previously unseen minerals. Also, for the first time, the Americans declared that free iron from lunar soil does not oxidize in air, which was later confirmed by Soviet researchers, who managed to obtain a patent for the discovery. The incomprehensible ability of NASA “scammers” to guess new minerals and unusual properties of chemical elements in lunar soil is another insoluble problem of those who deny flights to the Moon.

15. In July 2002, a daring theft of a safe containing lunar soil occurred at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, committed by student intern Ted Roberts and three accomplices. The thieves were caught trying to sell stolen goods through the website of the mineralogy club. The trial took place. The organizer of the theft received 8 years in prison, of which he served 6. I would like to ask those who deny flights to the Moon: which of them is ready to serve 6 years behind bars for the sake of temporarily possessing “fake” lunar soil? Or is the soil still genuine?

16. The crew of Apollo 12 delivered to Earth some parts of the Surveyor 3 apparatus, which stood on the Moon for almost two and a half years. In particular: samples of aluminum pipes, a piece of glass cladding, wire scraps, a scraper from a mechanical shovel and a television camera. So at the disposal of the creators of the new space technology turned out to be the most valuable data on space materials science. How could these objects return to Earth if lunar expeditions are fiction?

17. As a result of lunar expeditions, a huge amount of data was formed in the NASA archives. This data was later digitized and posted on the Internet on NASA websites. Here is a partial list of these sites:
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/images11.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/images12.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/images13.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/images14.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/images15.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/images16.html
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/images17.html

Magnificent lunar panoramas were made from photographic materials from lunar expeditions, which can be admired for a long time on the monitors of modern computers in full-screen viewing mode. Here they are:

18. On each Apollo flight, the astronauts filmed themselves, the interior of the spacecraft, and views out the window on 16mm film. All these films (digitized, of course) are now publicly available. Google "Apollo 16mm onboard film" and have a look. While watching, pay attention to the duration of the episodes illustrating the state of WEIGHTLESSITY - often the episodes last tens of minutes. But no one has yet learned to create artificial weightlessness on Earth for longer than tens of seconds. Special effects in films of those years were very primitive, and computer graphics appeared about 20 years later.

19. Apollo 15 commander David Scott, while on the Moon on August 2, 1971, demonstrated in front of a television camera Galileo's famous experiment, during which a hammer and an eagle feather fell onto the lunar soil at the same time. There was no way this could have happened on the Hollywood pavilion, because the feather would have fallen slower than the hammer due to friction with the air. http://youtu.be/w0GqrtbQnxI

20. Astronauts of the Apollo 16 expedition (Young and Duke) brought pictures back to Earth Milky Way and some galaxies in the ultraviolet range. These images were taken by the astronauts using a small telescope they took with them on the flight. As is known, ultraviolet radiation does not pass through the earth's atmosphere, so Young and Duke at least visited outside the earth's atmosphere. By the way, the telescope remained on the Moon, so the first lunar observatory has been waiting for its astronomers for 40 years.

21. Thanks to seismometers delivered by astronauts to the Moon, it was possible to conduct several active seismic experiments there. Since the Apollo 12 flight, the take-off stage of the lunar cabin, after the astronauts returned to the main block, was decelerated and dropped onto the lunar surface. The impact of a device weighing 2.5 tons at the first lunar cosmic speed (1.6 km/s) was equivalent to an explosion of 800 kg of TNT. And starting with the flight of Apollo 13, the last stage of the Saturn 5 rocket was also sent to the Moon. The fall of a stage weighing 15 tons onto the Moon at a speed of 2.5 km/s produced an effect similar to the explosion of 10 tons of TNT. At the same time, seismometers on the lunar surface recorded seismic vibrations caused by the fall of stages and lunar cabins. The fall of the third stage of the rocket that sent Apollo 13 to the Moon was a real surprise for selenophysicists: after the impact, the Moon literally hummed like a bell. The seismic vibrations lasted for four hours. Suspicions arose that the Moon was hollow inside. On May 13, 1972, a meteorite measuring 2 m at a speed of 20 km/s fell 142 km from seismic station A-14. The impact was so strong that a crater with a diameter of 100 m was formed. Instruments at seismic stations A-12 and A-14 went off scale, and at stations A-15 and A-16 (located respectively 967 and 1026 km) they received recordings of the strongest moonquake. Lunar seismology simply would not have been born if the Apollo program had been just a hoax.

22. Currently, lunar exploration is carried out not only by the United States (LRO), but also by China, Japan and India. An Indian satellite has obtained data confirming the presence of traces of Apollo 15 astronauts on the Moon (izvestia.ru). And the Japanese Kaguya probe transmitted data to Earth, on the basis of which a 3D model of Mount Hadley was built. It is enough to compare the view of this model from the landing site of the Apollo 15 astronauts with the photograph of Mount Hadley, brought to Earth by Scott and Irwin, to recognize that in Hollywood of the sixties of the last century they could not build a set that coincided in the smallest detail with the original located on the Moon (Hadley .jpg).

23. The reality of the Apollo program is best demonstrated by the development of a similar program in the USSR (by the way, carefully classified and even officially denied by Soviet propaganda of those years). Only with the advent of the era of glasnost its details and its name became known: N1-L3. The N1 rocket was inferior in characteristics to the Saturn 5 rocket, but could still deliver one astronaut to the Moon. Unfortunately, “there is no sadder story in the world than the story of...” our lunar rocket. After four unsuccessful launches, the project was closed. Further tests made no sense - by that time the Americans had already completed flights to the Moon. It was more convenient to pretend that the Soviet Union was not going to risk the lives of Soviet cosmonauts. That's what they did.

24. With the advent artificial satellites Earth (AES), astronomers have new instruments designed to observe them. The largest observatories in the world began to create satellite tracking stations and photograph them. Astronomers have learned to photograph even interplanetary stations, and satellites in low orbits are visible like cars on the streets of Moscow from orbit. Of course, flights to the Moon were also monitored. The photographs have been preserved and are available. Whistleblowers will be able to explain: how did NASA involve astronomers from around the world in the “lunar scam”? Hardly.

25. In 1958, the International Committee for Space Research (COSPAR) was created. COSPAR unites leading scientific institutions of many countries and international scientific unions whose activities are related to space research. COSPAR annually convenes international symposia on space exploration, which provide an opportunity to take stock of the results of space research. In June 1970, the XIII Session of COSPAR was held in my hometown, at which the first man to set foot on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, made a presentation. The idea that international astronautics experts can be “duped like the last suckers” looks convincing only in the minds of real, and not imaginary, suckers.

26. On October 14, 1905, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) was founded in Paris. Nowadays, more than 60 countries of the world are members of this international organization. The FAI ensures control over aviation achievements around the world, compares them and thereby contributes to the development of design ideas, aviation, aviation sports, and their progress. It also monitors advances in astronautics and interplanetary flight, recording records in this field as well. Currently, the FAI takes into account and registers the scientific, technical and record achievements of not only manned spacecraft, but also automatic stations flying both around the Earth and to other planets of the solar system. NASA had no problems registering numerous space records established during the implementation of the Apollo program, although the FAI commissioners checked everything carefully and scrupulously.

27. The USSR controlled the progress of the Apollo program with its own funds. For this purpose, at the end of 1967, specialists from NII-885 created a special control radio engineering complex, which made it possible to receive signals from the American Apollo spacecraft flying around the Moon and landing on its surface. This complex used a TNA-400 antenna with a dish diameter of 32 m, which was located in Crimea, near Simferopol. Tracking was carried out on the spacecraft of the Apollo 8, Apollo 10, Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 expeditions from December 1968 to November 1969. From these spacecraft, telephone conversations between astronauts and the Earth and telemetric information on the status of onboard aircraft were received with good quality. systems

28. In this video, details of the lunar terrain captured by the Apollo 11 astronauts through the lunar cabin window are convincingly identified with details of the latest lunar map related to the descent trajectory of the lunar cabin before landing on the Moon. In 1969, there were no lunar maps of such high resolution yet, and even Stanley Kubrick could not have created scenery that was 40 years ahead of its time.

29. In this collage, one of the frames of the film taken by the Apollo 14 astronauts in February 1971 during takeoff from the Moon is superimposed on a fragment of a modern high-resolution photograph of the Moon. See how the details of the images match. Lunar maps with such resolution simply did not exist 40 years ago, so it is easy to understand that the real lunar surface, and not a Hollywood set, is visible through the window of the take-off stage of the Antares lunar module.

30. In another collage, one of the frames of the film taken by the Apollo 15 astronauts in the first seconds of takeoff from the Moon is proposed to be compared with a fragment of a modern photograph of the landing site of the Falcon lunar module, taken by the Lunar Orbital Reconnaissance Survey on June 11, 2011. The coincidence of the details of the lunar relief in these images can only be explained by the fact that the real lunar surface is depicted.

31. In April 1972, the Apollo 16 astronauts (Young and Duke), taking off from the surface of the Moon, shot a film, a fragment of which is posted. At the 31st second, a frame appears that can be compared with a fragment of the LRO image - M175179080LR. Look how similar the details of the lunar surface relief are on these

32. In December 1972, the Apollo 17 astronauts (Cernan and Schmitt), taking off from the surface of the Moon, shot a film, a fragment of which is posted. At the 42nd second, a frame appears that can be compared with a fragment of the LRO image - M129086118LR. Look how similar the details of the lunar surface are in these two images, taken 40 years apart.

33. A favorite pastime of NASA whistleblowers is finding photographic materials in the vast archives of lunar expeditions, in which they can point out the discrepancy of some details with “how it should really be.” This is followed by accusations of photomontage and forgery, and a loud presentation of new evidence of the “moon scam.” For example, the flag is not installed later, because has no shadow. These evidence hunters don't realize that 40 years ago the only photo editing tool was scissors! They simply do not know that personal computers appeared 10 years later, and the Photoshop program 20 years after the expeditions to the Moon, which means that to falsify all NASA lunar photographs, a whole army of photo editors armed with scissors was required.

34. The world scientific community (with the exception of a few eccentrics) is unanimous in the opinion that the Apollo lunar expeditions are genuine and reliable, and the “lunar conspiracy” hypothesis is the brainchild of amateurs and poorly informed pseudo-experts. However, in fact, there is no single hypothesis of a “NASA conspiracy”, because the whistleblowers cannot agree among themselves, either the Americans did not fly anywhere, or they flew, but only around the Earth, or they flew to the Moon, but not to it disembarked. Until these “skeptics” develop a unified version of the “lunar conspiracy,” I see no reason to call their contradictory hypotheses a theory.

35. A funny incident happened with the editorial office of the International Scientific Journal "Vityaz". One of the most odious haters of the United States (permanently banned from Wikipedia), Anton Kolmykov, managed to squeeze his absurd article “How the United States flew to the Moon...” into this supposedly peer-reviewed journal. After several protests from the scientific community, the editors of the Vityaz magazine came to their senses and renounced Kolmykov’s already published article as an anti-scientific heresy. Now issue 6 of this magazine is downloaded from its archive in a shortened form (without the ill-fated article). Although the Vityaz magazine is not on the list of the Higher Attestation Commission, it is nevertheless represented in the New Library and should be excluded from there, but the sword does not cut off a guilty head.

36. The vast majority of Soviet and Russian cosmonauts, as well as specialists working in space, do not doubt the authenticity of human flights to the Moon on Apollo spacecraft. And no one will ever convince Leonov and Makarov, Bykovsky and Rukavishnikov, Popovich and Grechko, who themselves were preparing for flights to the Moon, that this is a completely unsolvable technical problem:

“And in open space, just so you know, you need protection, a whole meter of lead!
This means they didn’t fly to the moon, to avoid a lethal end!”

37. Foundation " Public opinion"in 2000, he conducted an all-Russian survey of urban and rural population(1500 respondents). To the question: “DO YOU BELIEVE THAT AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS REALLY WENT TO THE MOON?” answered yes/no, among all respondents - 51/28, with higher education - 62/21, with incomplete secondary education - 38/30, living in Moscow and St. Petersburg - 62/25, living in rural areas - 45/29. Historical truths are not established by voting, but this sociological study clearly indicates the reasons for Russians’ distrust of flights to the Moon. This is a lack of education, erudition and culture among the respondents.

38. In the history textbooks of all countries of the world, the first flights of people to the Moon are recorded as historical fact. Despite the numerous cries of those who refute this fact, whose websites are multiplying by “cross-pollination,” none of the professional historians is going to rewrite their monographs or school textbooks. Status of this event(man's flight to the moon) in historical science remains unchanged - “fact”, not “myth”.

39. Encyclopedias in the languages ​​of all peoples of the Earth contain articles dedicated to the first flights of people to the Moon. An encyclopedia is a scientific reference publication containing information that does not raise any doubts, containing only objectively reliable data. The authors of encyclopedias are usually the most erudite scientists who have deep knowledge the subject they are writing about. Therefore, in all encyclopedias it is written in black and white that 12 people have visited the Moon. Do you think there is at least mention of the “moon conspiracy” hypothesis in encyclopedias? I could only find such a mention on Wikipedia, if you have more luck, please let me know.

40. Museums of science and technology in the most different cities around the world have exhibitions dedicated to space research. There are exhibits on display that provide material evidence of the authenticity of lunar expeditions. Here are examples of such museums: Museum of Science and Industry postage stamps. Interestingly, upon the return of the Apollo 15 crew to Earth, a famous philatelic scandal occurred. NASA management approximately punished astronauts for bringing postal envelopes on board Apollo 15 in excess of the authorized norm. NASA whistleblowers remain silent about this incident, because it shows that the moral character of NASA employees was at the proper height and accusing them of super-swindle (deception of all mankind) is a hopeless matter.

42. Opponents of human flights to the Moon (a gentle epithet for the debunker Oleg Oleinik), or simply put, NASA haters never tire of repeating the thesis that for 40 years no one COULD repeat not only the flight to the Moon, but even the flyby of the Moon. So this thesis of theirs is not true! We can only say that no one WANTED. In the USSR, the Zond spacecraft was created and tested in flight. In essence, this is an ordinary Soyuz, but without a living compartment, launched onto the trajectory of a flight around the Moon by a Proton rocket. In such a ship, two weeks before the Apollo 8 astronauts, 2 Soviet cosmonauts were ready to fly around the Moon (the first in the history of mankind), but management canceled the launch because the previous Zond-6 ship crashed during landing. Nowadays, rumors have appeared on the Internet that one of the two seats on such a ship, which could fly around the Moon in 2015, has already been sold for $150 million. So the Moon has long been accessible not only to NASA.

43. The real truth about flights to the Moon is contained in the books of S.P.’s associates. Korolev and in the books of chroniclers of Soviet cosmonautics. Far from it full list these books:
Boris Evseevich Chertok "Rockets and people. Moon race"
Vasily Mishin "Why didn't we fly to the moon"

Verdict: the opinion that flights to the Moon are a blatant hoax is marginal (from the French marginal - on the side of the margin), that is, insignificant, insignificant, secondary, remaining the lot of amateurs, ignoramuses and charlatans.

HONOR AND GLORY TO THE CONQUERERS OF THE MOON!
SHAME AND DISGRACE TO THE STEALERS OF HEROES!

P.S. There is no doubt that my collection of arguments in favor of the reliability of the first flights of people to the Moon is incomplete. If you know of arguments that could add to this collection, send them to me by e-mail and they will be published here. But the gentlemen who have refuted need not worry, I have read enough of their fabrications and therefore I immediately SEND them all to a well-known address (I forum I mean, not what you thought). Now available pdf version of Nikomo’s book “Anti-Popov”, which reveals the anti-scientific nature of the conspiracy insinuations of A.I. Popova, as well as mine

From 1968 to 1972, the United States sent a number of people to the moon. Twelve of them walked along it. Since then, no one has returned to the Moon. Over the years, much of what these men did while they were there has either become uninteresting to the public or is simply ignored. Most people know that Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon, and that's enough.

Thanks to the popular film, many of us are familiar with the mission of Apollo 13, which miraculously returned to Earth after an onboard explosion. Still there are tons more interesting facts about what these people did and said during their historical travels. We have collected a set of such facts for you.

One of the most popular photographs of the first moon landing shows Buzz Aldrin standing next to an American flag. However, this flag had a very unfortunate fate, as it fell a few hours later when Neil Armstrong returned to the command module. After Aldrin pressed the rocket's launch button, he looked out the window and saw the nozzle explode, scattering everything, including the notorious flag.

Remarkably, the other flags that are still on the Moon, placed there by subsequent astronauts and that were placed far enough from the rocket, all turned white. Over forty years, unfiltered sunlight and radiation have completely burned away the red and blue colors.

Unauthorized psychic experiments

During the Apollo 14 mission, unbeknownst to his superiors in Houston (or even the crew), Edgar D. Mitchell conducted several unscheduled experiments on extrasensory perception. During the first hours of his sleep time on the way to the moon and back, Mitchell devoted his attention to concentrating on the symbols commonly used in psychic tests. Together with a group of doctors in Florida, he discussed the sessions in advance, hoping to figure out whether thoughts could be transmitted thousands of kilometers into space. The results were zero, to put it mildly.

Apparently, Mitchell and his partners on Earth were not in sync. In any case, the results were published in a 1971 issue of The Journal of Parapsychology, just like that.

When we think of the astronauts, the rugged, strong-willed men who participated in the early days of the space program, we would never imagine them sobbing and wiping away tears if it weren't for Alan Shepard. Truly, this is one of the most underrated American astronauts. Not only was he one of the first Americans in space, but at the age of 47 he became the oldest person to ever walk on the moon. After retiring from the space program several years earlier due to an inner ear disorder, Shepard vowed to overcome the illness and return to the game. In early 1971, he was part of the Apollo 14 mission.

By the way, this is the same astronaut who made the longest throw in history (“for miles and miles”) on the Moon. However, few people know that this same astronaut could not contain his emotions when he took his first steps on the lunar surface. Alan Shepard cried while standing on the moon. Although what’s wrong with that - in the end, he couldn’t wipe away his tears.

Lunar Communion

NASA bosses have warned astronauts that since virtually the entire world will be listening, they should not participate in any religious rituals during trips to the moon. Since they represent all of humanity, why offend representatives of other religions? However, Buzz Aldrin considered the occasion too important to let slip by.

So, after the landing was complete and everyone awaited the historic steps, Aldrin turned on the radio and asked everyone listening to find a way to mark this moment in history and thank whoever they saw fit. For him, this meant opening a small flask of wine and taking out the bread that he took with him. After reciting a passage from the Gospel, he ate bread and drank wine, becoming the first and so far only person to honor the Christian ritual of communion on the Moon. Neil Armstrong watched his partner with respect but indifference.

First words

Neil Armstrong's famous words when he took his first step on the moon are (according to the official history): "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Of course, these words became the subject of endless debate, plus many argue that he misspoke and said not “for a person”, but “for a man,” which slightly understates the significance of his words.

In fact, the first words that were spoken on the surface of the Moon while still inside the ship are usually understood as the first words after a safe landing, namely: “Houston, here is a base of calm. The eagle has landed." However, before and after these words there was so much technical jargon exchanged between the astronauts that it is actually difficult to say which words were the first spoken on the Moon.

To complicate matters further, Armstrong's landing was so soft that no one could be completely sure of what he said immediately after landing. The transcripts come down to three possible options. Aldrin could indicate that the contact light had turned on by saying "contact light." Armstrong could then instruct Aldrin to turn off the trigger motor with the words “turn it off.” Aldrin turned off the engine and said "okay, engine stop." None of these phrases were significant, so perhaps it is better to take Armstrong's message to mission control in Houston as a starting point.

What does the moon smell like?

Astronauts who visited the Moon were surprised by its pungent smell. Of course, they didn't feel it until they returned to the lunar module and took off their spacesuits. The finest powder was everywhere, on the hands and faces of the astronauts. Some have tried moon dust. But the first contact of lunar dust with oxygen in four billion years gave rise to a very specific smell.

Most astronauts described it as the smell of spent gunpowder they were familiar with from military service. Why did he smell like that? Unknown. Chemically, the moon and gunpowder are not at all similar, so there are different theories as to why this happened. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, said that the moon smells like wet ashes in a fireplace.

Records or prestige

Of course, “-11” can be called the “highlight of the program,” and in general this is a very expressive moment in human space exploration. However, the dress rehearsal for this mission, Apollo 10, set several records that have yet to be broken. In addition to the cool names (Command Module Charlie Brown and Lunar Module Snoopy), the three men who flew the mission went down in history as the men who went further from home than anyone else. Eugene Kernan, Thomas Stafford and John Young were more than 408,950 kilometers from Houston when they reached the far side of the Moon.

Due to the timing of their mission, the Moon was particularly far from Earth, and the planet's rotation flipped Houston to the opposite side of Earth. Even though the Apollo 13 crew was technically farther from the Earth's surface, Apollo 13 traveled a gigantic distance from its launch point. After setting this record, the team set another one - they reached a speed of 39,897 kilometers per hour, returning home. On this moment this is the maximum speed at which a person has ever moved.

Lunar module pilots

Astronaut Pete Conrad was a man who pushed boundaries. As commander of Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the Moon, he waited until his module was on the dark side of the Moon and beyond radio signals, and then did the unthinkable: on the way from the lunar surface to the lunar module, he allowed his pilot to fly, " hold the helm." Thus, he seemed to show that “lunar module pilot” is not just a title.

The job of the lunar module pilot (like many others) was to ensure that the commander had all the information necessary to fly under his command. He could only control the lunar module if the commander was unable to fly for certain reasons, which never occurred. As they drifted on the dark side of the moon, Conrad turned to the pilot, Alan Bean, and said, “You can pilot this vehicle for a minute.” Surprised but pleased, Bean was happy to take control, even if only for a little while.

Priceless sculpture

David Scott, commander of Apollo 15, wanted to pay tribute to the many people who . Before starting his mission, he asked Belgian artist Paul von Hoeydonk to create a small statue that could honor all the astronauts - American and Russian - who died in pursuit of the dream of all mankind. The sculpture looked like a person, but did not represent race, gender or nationality. There was no commercial profit from the goodwill gesture, simply honoring the memory of all the astronauts who died in the line of duty.

The artist agreed, and on August 1, 1971, the crew of Apollo 15 left a finger-sized figurine on the top of Mons Hadley next to a plaque with the names of the 14 famous cosmonauts who died (in fact, two more Soviet cosmonauts had died by this point, but the USSR I haven’t reported this yet). A few years later, the artist decided to raise some money by selling signed copies of the sculpture, but Scott convinced him that this was a violation of the agreement. Perhaps one day there will be a small statue in a lunar museum on the surface of the Moon.

Scientist on the Moon

As the Apollo program was scrapped due to budget cuts, NASA came under more and more pressure from scientific community with a request to send a real scientist to the Moon while it is possible. Until this point, NASA had only sent its own test pilots, trained as astronauts. But they only took a short course in geology and, of course, could not replace those who devoted their entire lives to studying rocks.

What did Neil Armstrong eat on the moon?

We have already learned that during the takeoff of the rocket, the American flag attached to the Moon fell due to a nozzle explosion. We also learned that the first words of the man on the Moon sounded differently than is commonly believed. But do you know what food the astronauts tried during the first landing on the surface of our satellite?

It is believed that the first dish Neil Armstrong ate on the moon was roast turkey. Of course, it was not at all like the dish served on Thanksgiving Day, but was in liquid form. But the second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, tasted bread and wine. The fact is that he was an elder in the church and decided to perform the Christian rite of the Eucharist.

With this in mind, NASA began hiring scientists and training them in astronautics, right down to how to fly an airplane. These guys didn't stand a chance, but when it became known that Apollo 17 would be the last mission to the Moon, Harrison Schmitt, a Harvard geologist, was called in. He completed the intensive training required to qualify as an astronaut and was ready to go.

Needless to say, sending a geologist to the Moon is like sending a military historian to the times of the Great Patriotic War. Schmitt spent three days poking around in rocks on the Moon, and even brought back some interesting samples. Other scientists went into space later, but Schmitt remained one of those who walked on the Moon.

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 “lunar conspiracy” theory are trying to challenge the unreal 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 conditions global war Long-range bombers will suffice. 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 ship"Mercury", she was only able to 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
Saturn-5
Titan-2

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 longest stay in space - almost eight days ( Soviet cosmonauts managed to beat him 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, experts and astronauts gave numerous interviews, technical support Many countries and the global scientific community participated, 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 on understanding 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, whose brightness was 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 have never expressed doubts about the authenticity of what happened: even during the flight of the first satellites, the Agency national security(NSA) deployed two surveillance stations in Alaska and Hawaii and installed radio equipment there capable of intercepting telemetry coming 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 frames from this broadcast were in the hands of government officials, and President John F. Kennedy congratulated Soviet people with an 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 was calculated spaceship 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 water area Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, 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 access to official information on the ship and missile. And, as is known, no complaints were made against the American side.

The Americans themselves had complaints. In 1970, that is, even before completion lunar program, a brochure by a certain James Craney was published, “Did Man Land 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 dismissal at will“Kaysing was 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 any higher education. 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 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 considered 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 “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. In science and jurisprudence it works Golden Rule: 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 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 at least general idea about what happened 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 the main optical camera of LRO: the lunar modules, scientific equipment and “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.

* * *

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, which 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.

SpaceX, founded by an engineer Elon Musk, plans to send two tourists into space on the private Dragon 2 spacecraft using the Big Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. The company announced its plans to send people to the Moon at the beginning of 2017.

As stated in the company's press release, during this year the first two tourists will be subjected to a series of health and training tests. They will also undergo an initial training course.

The first flight was initially planned to take place at the end of 2018, and then this date was postponed until mid-2019. SpaceX says the first flight of a crewed version of the Dragon is planned for later this year. In automatic mode and without passengers on board. Therefore, in case of successful tests, a manned flight to the ISS may take place in the second quarter of 2018. The Falcon Heavy launch vehicle will take off from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral in Florida. This will be Launch Pad 39A, which was used by the Apollo program on missions to the Moon in the late 60s and early 70s.

Who can fly next?

After the first mission, SpaceX will send other groups of tourists to the Moon. The cost for each of them, as Musk previously said, will be about the same as a flight to the ISS - $35 million. As the company notes, anyone (not poor) who is willing to make a deposit, undergo instructions and training can become a passenger. In addition, the future space flight participant must meet all medical requirements, otherwise no one will allow him to train, no matter how much money he has. Such a person should not have serious health problems, especially with the cardiovascular system.

Today, in addition to SpaceX, tourist space flights Companies such as Space Adventures and Excalibur Almaz want to make it around the Moon. Private Excalibur Almaz announced back in 2015 that it plans to begin tourist space flights around the Moon. According to Space.com, the company expects to sell about 30 seats by 2025 for $150 million. Owner of company Art Dule several years ago he announced that he had completed the modernization of four Soviet “trucks”, on which the first travelers would be able to fly to the Moon in eight months.

As for Space Adventures, its travelers are prepared in a star city and sent on a Soyuz spacecraft to the Russian segment of the ISS. To date, seven tourists have visited the ISS. Cost of a tour to orbit international station is 40 million dollars, space access - 3 million. The price for those who want to fly to the Moon will be higher - 120 million dollars. They plan to send space tourists to the Earth’s satellite using a modernized Soyuz series spacecraft. The first flight could take place before 2020.

Why did people stop going to the moon? The answer to this question is not so simple. The course of the history of the development of the lunar plains was influenced by certain circumstances that should be considered in a certain sequence. At the same time, it is necessary to figure out what is reality and what is fiction. We should not forget that the lunar program was developed not only by the Russians, but also by the Americans. Both projects were abruptly interrupted without specific explanation. Naturally, this raised many questions, and the most important of them was that the reasons for such a rapid abandonment of the development of a strategically important project were due to mysterious circumstances.

NASA successes: lunar race

To better understand why people no longer fly to the Moon, you should carefully study the history of the exploration of this Earth satellite. First of all, it is necessary to mention the race that the two superpowers have waged for supremacy in this world.

Everyone knows that during that period of history, the priority of space exploration was assigned to the USSR. Naturally, the Americans were well aware that their rivals had advanced far in space exploration and that it would not be so easy to get ahead of them. To reduce the distance, NASA needed to make some kind of breakthrough in space exploration. It was at this time that the lunar program was created. About 40 thousand employees worked on its development over eight years. Don't forget that about $110 billion was spent on the lunar program. But if there was good funding, then why did they stop flying to the moon? Data for a long time were kept silent. Until now, some aspects of the history of the development of lunar spaces remain unclear.

It is worth noting that American developments in this area have been successful. After all, the key link here was Vernen von Braun. This man worked for Adolf Hitler during World War II. It was this specialist who created the legendary V-2.

American Apollos

After much work by a large team of specialists, the Americans achieved tremendous success. Wernher von Braun created a carrier with sufficient power. However, when finished, the product was simply enormous in size. It was not possible to transport it by land. Therefore, the carrier was delivered to the cosmodrome using water transport. It is worth noting that the Saturn engine had a power of 180 million horsepower. When the carrier was launched, ceilings in nearby buildings crumbled and all the glass was broken.

Before the first landing on the Earth's satellite, NASA conducted 10 Apollo launches. In 1968 (in October), Apollo 7 was launched into low-Earth orbit, and in December, Apollo 8, with pilots on board. They were the first to orbit the Moon.

In 1969 (in March), Apollo 9 tested the lunar module in space, and in May, Apollo 10 conducted a rehearsal for landing on the Moon, descending to a height of 15 kilometers from the surface of the Earth's satellite. However, there was no complete landing. On July 2, 1969, a crew was delivered to the surface of the Moon in Apollo 11. After this, six more expeditions were carried out with the landing of the crew.

USSR and the lunar race

As for the USSR, the superpower suffered many setbacks in the lunar race and was greatly inferior to its competitor. At that time, a team of specialists led by S.P. Korolev and V.N. Chelomey was working on the development of a flight to the Moon. However, for a long time, Russian scientists were unable to create a carrier that would have sufficient power.

Some time later, S.P. Korolev died. But it was he who was the key link in the project. As a result of the sad event, the situation worsened greatly. It is worth noting that the USSR spent all its efforts on the space exploration program. Therefore, there simply weren’t enough opportunities and finances for the lunar race. Of course, over time the situation improved. However, it still remains unclear why people don’t fly to the Moon now.

Closure of lunar programs

Why don’t they fly to the Moon and why were all lunar programs closed? At the end of 1972, NASA stopped conducting research. The lunar program was closed. It is worth noting that the Soviet Union also curtailed all its projects related to the failure to land its crew on the surface of the Earth’s satellite. After that, no one else tried to resume flights. During this period, a huge number of multi-billion dollar projects were closed. So why did people stop flying to the moon, and why was there such a rush?

Of course, many assumed that the Russians had simply lost interest in the program. But it is very difficult to understand the reason for the Americans. After all, they were able to achieve success in their developments. Also, many assume that the reason for the high cost of such programs is far-fetched. Indeed, at that time, most of the allocated funds were spent on creating rockets and launch pads. The cost of one launch was equal to the cost of one bomber. In addition, it is not entirely clear why they are not flying to the Moon now. After all, technology has come a long way. This suggests that the reasons are more significant than lack of funding or lost interest.

Anomalies on the Moon

After the first flights to the Moon, it became known that something strange was happening on the Earth’s satellite. Not only the Americans, but also the Russians knew about this. Around the world, dozens of astronauts have reported that many strange and inexplicable things can be seen on the Moon.

From the stories it became clear that quite bright flashes appear in different places near the surface of the Earth’s satellite, which have different shades, differ in length, and also in directions. In addition, it was reported that strange shadows can be seen on the Moon that are constantly moving. Also, from the surface of the Earth’s satellite, some luminous points of impressive dimensions enter orbit. They fly around part of the orbit along a chord, and then land.

In addition, Professor N.A. Kozyrev, who was an employee in 1958, reported that for several hours the central part of the Alphonse crater was covered with a large red cloud. Such anomalies were difficult to explain without research. Maybe this is the answer to the question of why people don’t fly to the moon.

Lunar Anomaly Research

Of course, anomalies on the Moon could be the main reason for the closure of programs to study its surfaces. But first of all, it was necessary to study all the incomprehensible and Therefore, in the USA in 1965, an entire scientific society was created that was engaged in research lunar anomalies. At that time, the team included only highly qualified specialists. Over the entire period of work of this scientific community, many anomalies have been identified on the Moon. Many of them were quite difficult to explain. It was for this reason that in 1968 a document was created called the “Chronological Catalog of Messages about Lunar Events.”

What was found on the Moon?

About 579 unexplained anomalous phenomena occurring on the surface and in the orbit of the Moon were listed here. Among such phenomena there were:

1. Disappearing craters.
2. Geometric figures.
3. Domes of gigantic size that can change color.
4. Colored trenches that can extend at a speed of 6 kilometers per hour.
5. Luminous objects and so on.

Such phenomena could not be explained, but neither the Americans nor the Russians wanted to stop the lunar race. As a result, launches began spacecraft, since it was decided to fly and see everything with my own eyes. No one paid attention to the presence of anomalies at that time. But why don’t they fly to the moon even after studying many phenomena?

Messages from the Moon

Establishing the exact reason why people do not fly to the Moon is not so easy. You can make a lot of guesses, but it is very difficult to get to the truth. It is enough to analyze the first messages of the astronauts who set off to conquer the lunar space. When the Americans launched Apollo with a crew on board, many radio amateurs around the world followed the course of events. After all, at that time there were broadcasts of communications with Houston astronauts. It was after the first messages that it became clear that the crew was not telling something. Years later, it became clear that the guesses were correct. Radio amateurs from Australia and Switzerland were able to catch the astronauts' conversations on a different frequency immediately after landing. They talked about incomprehensible and strange things. What was there and why don’t they fly to the moon now? After all, it is much closer than Mars.

Confession

So why don't people go to the moon anymore even after all these years? There were a lot of omissions in the negotiations between the astronauts and Houston. Of course, many things are difficult to explain, especially if you see them for the first time. 10 years after the first flight to the moon, Maurice Chatelain, who was one of the creators of the radio equipment intended for the lunar program, made a statement that he was present at a communication session when Neil Armstrong spoke about several objects of unknown origin that landed at some distance from "Apollo".

After this, messages from the Moon spoke of some stone blocks that were located not far from the landing block. Moreover, some of them, as claimed, emitted a glow from the outside, and some from the inside. It was almost colorless and insignificant.

Not only NASA, but also the crew members refused to comment on such messages. After some time, the commander of the Apollo 11 expedition reported some phenomena. But he could not tell in detail, since he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. After the program to develop the Earth's satellite was closed, NASA admitted that about 25 astronauts personally saw the presence of a UFO during the expedition. Maybe this is the reason why they no longer fly to the Moon and do not develop new programs for its exploration?

Evidence of UFOs

Still, it is not entirely clear why they don’t fly to the Moon if there are opportunities for this? Many ufologists claim that life exists on the surface of the Earth's satellite. In addition, there is evidence that the Apollo 12 expedition was accompanied by unidentified flying objects. This fact was established from Earth observatories. Two UFOs were flying near the American shuttle and flashing their lights. One was located behind the Apollo, and the second was in front.

At the moment, all that is clear is that the Americans knew very well that there was something inexplicable and unusual on the surface of the Moon. Perhaps new expeditions were carried out to unravel this mystery. To prove this, just look at the images taken with the telescope about 10 years before the first launches. They were made by astronomer Jess Wilson. They clearly show a chain of many bright objects that stretch from outer space to the Moon. Scientists have been unable to provide an objective explanation for this phenomenon. Perhaps UFOs exist. And it is this fact that provides a complete answer to the question of why no one has been flying to the Moon for many decades.

Strange objects on the Moon

Why don’t they fly to the Moon, and what was discovered by the Americans on its surface? These questions concern many fans. unexplained phenomena. As some documents show, the last Apollo expeditions discovered many interesting objects on the Moon. At that time, the astronauts managed to film strange vehicles, rather large boulders that rolled out of the craters on their own. Of course, these are not all the objects that are worthy of attention.

Not far from the landing site, photographs were taken of cars, as well as holes with smooth and right angles, which exclude their crater formation, and canyons that are simply lined with stone blocks. There are plenty of similar inexplicable phenomena on the Moon.

Finally

Scientists suggest that there was once life on the Moon, and perhaps it still exists there today. After all, astronauts managed to partially study only what is on the surface of the Earth’s satellite. Everything that is inside the Moon remains a mystery. Of course, all the above facts do not provide a comprehensive answer to the question of why people do not fly to the Moon. Perhaps after another 10 years everything will fall into place, and humanity will finally know the truth.