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As humanity prepares to return to the moon, more and more people can deny that we went in the first place.
A small part of the American population currently believes that The Apollo landings were skewed; Polls regularly estimate that this figure is around 5%, said Roger Launius, chief historian of NASA from 1990 to 2002. However, this explosion could develop considerably in the years to come.
"What concerns me more and more about this is that time passes and that the Apollo Landing further back in the past and fewer people remember, it might be easier to adopt these kinds of ideas, "said Launius, a former senior museum official. air and space of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, before retiring in 2017, said this month during a presentation with the working group on future operations in the US. NASA space.
Related: Apollo Moon landing hoax theories that will not die
The lunar-hoax conspiracy really had legs when the Internet became online, he added. Like-minded people who used to print pamphlets and flyers in relative isolation were suddenly able to connect quickly and share their ideas with the world-abilities that have multiplied with the advent of social media in the United States. during the last ten years.
The hoax claim should not extend on merit; The evidence quoted by the Holocaust deniers is "in every single case, ridiculous," said Launius. (For a good summary of these claims and why they do not hold, see this classic piece of 2001 by astronomer Phil Plait. To cite just one example from Plait's article: no star is visible on photos taken by Apollo astronauts on the surface of the moon, as explorers have set the exposure time of their cameras and that the stars were just too weak to be captured.)
Launius also pointed out that the Apollo landings took place during (and largely because of) space race with the American rival of the cold war, the Soviet Union. And Soviet officials have not made any claim for hoax.
"They had both the ability and the desire to refute that, if that was true – you know, if we had not landed on the moon, but simulated it," said Launius, who discusses the conjuration of the lunar hoax and many other topics. in "The legacy of Apollo: perspectives on the moon's landings, "to be published next month by Smithsonian Books." And they never said a word. It's a pretty strong item for me. "
So why does the lunar hoax plot persist? Launius put forward a number of possible reasons. For example, some people are naive and misinformed. This is a particularly important issue for young people, who are more inclined to consider the NASA website and the YouTube channel of a conspiracy theorist as equally authoritative, he said.
In addition, some people are predisposed to be insolent or opposed, some like the feeling of knowing something that others do not know and a smaller group peddling the conspiracy theory for personal gain. And the love of intrigue and a good story seems to be rooted in our culture.
"Americans love conspiracy theories," said Launius, citing as an example the many crazy ideas on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (who officially put the human space flight program to NASA on the moon in the early 1960s).
Educators must take the problem of hoaxes seriously and strive to answer questions, especially those posed by young people, about Apollo landings, he added.
No one has set foot on the lunar gray earth since December 1972, when Apollo 17 astronauts left for the Earth. But that could change soon.
NASA is working to bring astronauts back to the moon from here 2024, according to the instructions of President Donald Trump. The current plan of the space agency provides for the construction of a small space station in lunar orbit called Gateway, which will serve as a starting point for robotic and crewed outputs to the lunar surface.
NASA intends to build over time a long-term sustainable outpost on the lunar surface. Lessons learned from life and work on and around the Moon will inform the next giant leap: Mars exploration by crew.
Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"(Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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