According to one of the most popular conspiracy theories, NASA astronauts have never been to the Moon, and all footage of the landing was allegedly filmed on Earth. However, the astronauts not only repeatedly landed on the surface of the Earth's natural satellite, but also left a lot of traces on it, literally and figuratively. Namely, with each visit to the Moon, they planted the American flag, and also left equipment (landing modules, a lunar rover, research equipment) and many traces in the lunar soil, including from the wheels of the lunar rover. But what happened to all these objects decades later and is it possible to see this irrefutable proof that people visited the Moon?
During each «Apollo» astronauts planted a flag on the moon. Photo source: iflscience.com
Contents
- 1 Is it possible to see a flag on the moon
- 2 What happened to the flag on the moon
- 3 Human excrement will be delivered from the Moon to Earth
- 4 Traces of the Americans’ presence on the Moon are in the photo
Is it possible to see a flag on the Moon
The Moon is much closer to the Earth than other space objects, for example, Mars. However, the distance is still very large – over 384 thousand kilometers. Therefore, no telescope located on Earth will allow you to see the lunar rover or any other small object. And this applies even to the largest research telescopes, not to mention amateur ones, whose capabilities are very limited.
The diameter of the smallest object on the Moon that can be seen with the most powerful ground-based telescope should be about one and a half kilometers. The flag is about a thousand times smaller, so there is not even the slightest chance of seeing it in a telescope.
Small objects on the moon can be seen from orbiters such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Photo source: space.com
What happened to the flag on the moon
If the objects left by NASA astronauts cannot be seen from Earth, this does not mean that they cannot be seen at all. For example, they can be seen using lunar orbiters, such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which orbits the natural satellite and conducts observations.
True, the device does not allow you to see the objects themselves, that is, the flags or the landing stage, but it does record the shadows that the objects cast. In the pictures taken by LRO in recent years, you can see the flags left during the Apollo 12, 16 and 17.
A flag can be seen in this image taken by the LRO. Photo credit: iflscience.com
Many have probably wondered what happened to the rest of the flags, including the very first one left during the Apollo 11 mission. It is unlikely to be worth looking for, since astronaut Buzz Aldrin reported seeing the flag fall during launch. The LRO orbiter was unable to find it either.
As for the flag left behind by the Apollo 14 missions, it is known that it also fell and was seriously damaged by exhaust gases from the lunar module. It is quite possible that the same thing happened to the flag planted during the Apollo 15 mission. Unfortunately, the orbiter cannot provide any information about the condition of the three flags that remain standing. We will only be able to find out when people return to the Moon.
Human excrement to be delivered from the Moon to Earth
Astronauts left 96 bags of their waste products on the Moon. Their fate is unknown, but as we understand, they could not have escaped from the surface of the Moon. Therefore, scientists want to deliver the excrement back to Earth and study how their stay on the surface of the satellite affected them. This will probably be one of the strangest studies.
A family photo on the moon left by astronaut Charlie Duke. Photo source: www.rmg.co.uk
In addition to human waste, there are also all sorts of small objects left by astronauts on the Moon. For example, during the Apollo 16 mission, astronaut Charles Duke left a framed family photograph. On the back of it is written: “This is the family of astronaut Charlie Duke from planet Earth, who landed on the Moon on April 20, 1972.”
It is not difficult to guess that after more than 50 years of exposure to sunlight, this photograph has faded greatly. But, in any case, it will certainly be interesting for astronauts who will go to the Moon again decades after the last Apollo mission to find such “artifacts.”
Traces of the Americans' presence on the Moon are in the photo
The equipment left by the American astronauts, like the flags, continues to be on the Moon. Moreover, its presence has already been confirmed by space agencies of various countries. For example, the Japanese space agency JAXA reported that the Kaguya apparatus has discovered traces of the Apollo 15 descent module on the Moon.
The LRO image shows the descent module, the ALSEP research equipment, the lunar rover's wheel tracks, and even the astronauts' footprints. Photo source: wikipedia.org
Also, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) reported that the Chandrayaan-1 device received images of the same landing stage, and also recorded traces left by the lunar rover's wheels. In addition, the landing stage of the Apollo 11 mission is clearly visible in the image taken by the Chandrayaan-2 automatic interplanetary station.
The Chinese automatic station Chang'e-2 also photographed the landing sites of American manned spacecraft. The resulting photos show the traces of the Apollo 16 landing best of all. Therefore, there is no doubt that American astronauts really stepped on the surface of the Moon.
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But why then have people been unable to return to the satellite for half a century, and why have there even been problems with landing unmanned landing modules? You can get a detailed answer at the link. In short, the USSR and the USA allocated huge funds for the lunar program. Now, space agencies do not have such large budgets, and sending astronauts to the Moon no longer has the important political significance it did 60 years ago.