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Scots scientists dismiss Apollo mission doubts; University team deals with the conspiracies

Posted on: Thursday, 19 February 2004, 06:00 CST

IT was a small step for man, a giant leap for mankind, and a veritable long jump for conspiracy theorists.

Now scientists from a Scottish university are going walkabout to combat the sceptics who claim US astronaut Neil Armstrong never set foot on the moon.

The conspiracists claim the Apollo moon landings of the 60s and 70s were faked by Nasa in a TV studio in an attempt to help America claim victory in the space race with the former Soviet Union.

They were brought to a wider audience in the 1978 Hollywood movie Capricorn One, starring Elliot Gould and James Brolin, which told of a faked US mission to Mars.

Studies show that 6% of Americans - 12 million people - do not believe Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969.

However, physicists at Glasgow University aim finally to lay the conspiracy theories to rest.

They have come up with arguments to disprove the hoax theories and prove that Armstrong did make history with his "one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind".

Sceptics claim Nasa made mistakes in its footage which prove it was shot in a studio. They allege, for instance, that the American flag is waving during the landings when it should not.

However, Dr Ken Skeldon and Dr Martin Hendry are preparing a roadshow to take to schools and science festivals with the help of a (pounds) 10,000 grant from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, a government-funded body.

Dr Hendry said most of the conspiracy theory science was flawed, and it was relatively simple for people to work this out. "It's not really rocket science. If you have a look at some of the books and internet sites the principal arguments stem from misunderstandings about how science works on the moon, rather than on the earth."

Of the waving flag, he said: "It's waving because on the moon there is no air and once you start something moving it never stops. That's because there's no air resistance to stop it from moving.

"The flag was actually supported, because otherwise it would droop down, but once the astronauts planted it in the soil, it started moving and just carried on.

"But it's just in our world that there is friction - if you try to apply earth laws of physics you reach the conclusion that the flag shouldn't wave, but that's just wrong."

Sceptics also claim the landings were faked because pictures do not show any stars.

However, Dr Hendry puts this down to the bright light from the sun which reflected off the moon's surface and drowned out light from the stars.

He said: "On the moon, the sun in the sky is still pretty bright, and the cameras they were using to pick up detail wouldn't also have been able to pick up any stars in the sky."

Conspiracy theorists also claim pictures of the moon landings show the astronauts' shadows are not parallel - proof of a hoax because it suggests the pictures were taken in a studio with several lights, rather than on the moon where all light would have come from the sun.

But Dr Hendry said shadows cast by the sun were not always parallel to each other.

Contrary to what sceptics argue, Dr Hendry said there was a thin layer of dust on the moon - and it would be disturbed and resettle when an astronaut walked or jumped on it.

Dr Hendry said: "It's a bit of a mystery to me why there is such a lack of belief in the US. It's all based on a misunderstanding of science and a mistrust of the government.

"Sometimes that might be well placed mistrust. But if you have issues with the government, don't take them out on Nasa."

the theories Conspiracy theorists claim that errors in Nasa footage prove it was shot in a studio. It is claimed:

The American flag is fluttering when it should not be.

Stars should be visible in the photographs There should not be dust on the moon Photographs show shadows which prove studio lights, and not the sun, lit the pictures No flames were visible from the lunar module as it took off from the moon

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