John Henning discusses the moon landing conspiracy theory that argues the United States faked the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 to prove it had superior technology to the Soviet space program. Henning argues against this, noting that the U.S. could not have planted the American flag deep enough or obtained moon rocks and soil samples without actually landing on the moon. Henning also argues that photographic evidence of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon cannot be explained if the landing was faked. While conspiracy theorists point to anomalies in some photos, Henning provides scientific explanations for these issues. In the end, Henning concludes the available facts and evidence provide no legitimate support for the moon landing being a hoax.

1. John Henning
Astronomy Extensions
Moon Landing Conspiracy
Moon Landing Conspiracy Theory
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” these are some very famous words
said by Neil Armstrong as I’m sure you all know; but what really happened that day? Did the
Apollo 11 spacecraft really land on the moon? Did Neil Armstrong really take one small step and
one giant leap, or was it all some elaborate hoax, a conspiracy theory to prove that the U.S. space
program was better than the Russian Space program?
A conspiracy to make ourselves look better than the Russians in the race to space, I don’t
think so. As soon as you think about the moon landing you probably straight away envision the
American Flag proudly standing on the moon’s surface; how could we possibly place our flag
deep enough into the moon’s surface without having of actually been there? It simply could not
be done. Where then did we get the samples of the moon’s soil and rock, did we dig it up from
Miami Beach? If this really was a conspiracy where did all the pictures of Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin come from; Photoshop wasn’t invented for another 13 years.
The opposition will undoubtedly argue that some of the images taken could not have been
something that actually happened. One picture shows a foot print on a completely dry surface
which is impossible. That would be true if the moon didn’t have a substance called moon dust
which is a fine dry powder that compresses easily allowing for a perfect shoe print. Also
conspiracy supporters will say that the Moon Lander is on to even of a surface for something that
was recently landed on; the reality is that as the Moon Lander landed, it throttled down allowing
for as little of a disturbance as possible on the moon.
Look at the facts and the evidence; does any of it bring up a real question? No. Apollo 11
landed on the moon on July 20th, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to
walk on the moon. We beat the Russians to the moon. Our flag floats proudly there today.

2. John Henning
Astronomy Extensions
Moon Landing Conspiracy
Moon Landing Bibliography
"PHOTOS: 8 Moon-Landing Hoax Myths -- Busted." Daily Nature and Science News and
Headlines | National Geographic News. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2010.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/photogalleries/apollo-moon-
landing-hoax-pictures/>.
"World Book." World Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?
id=ar062594&st=black+holes>.Apollo 11 -
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb.
2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11>.