Moon Landing Hoax

Original Air Date: August 27, 2008
Episode # 106

Moon Landing Hoax

The Myths:
Some people think that NASA and the US government are perpetrating a hoax on people.  They believe that we never really did land on the moon.  The people who believe this point to a wide number of pictures and videos as evidence, so the guys picked some of the most prevalent myths to test.

The Myth: Faked Photos
Conspiracy theorists state that a photo that shows the LEM (Lunar Exploration Module) and two rocks must be faked, because the shadows from the rocks and the LEM do not appear to be parallel.  They also believe that another photo, showing an astronaut descending from the LEM, must be faked because, although the ladder of the LEM is in shadow, the astronaut can be clearly seen.  In both of these myths, the theorists say that another light source would have to be used to make these pictures appear the way they do, and since the only light source on the Moon is the Sun, these pictures must be faked.

The Experts: Adam and Jamie

Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Adam (while wheeling in a large light source):  Jamie, I’d like to introduce you to your sun!

The Action/ Results:
To test the first myth, the guys made a lunar surface out of some Spandex, which was stretched over a wooden frame and sprinkled with Portland cement and bone black to simulate the lunar surface.  They added a model of an LEM, and some rocks, to duplicate the scene from the photo.  Then they took the picture.  All of the shadows were in the same plane, as the conspiracy theorists say that they should be.  Adam and Jamie then carefully moved some of the dust to create small hills and valleys on the surface of their set, just like the small dips and rises on the surface of the real Moon.  Then they took the picture again. This time, the shadows appeared to be non-parallel.  Simply by changing the topography of the set, the shadows changed.  Another light source was not needed, so this myth is BUSTED.

To test the second photograph, Adam made a larger model of the LEM, and added his 1/6 scale model of Neil Armstrong to the large miniature that they had made.  They reformulated the lunar dust, or regolith, on the surface of the model so that it had the same reflective qualities (albedo) as real regolith.  Real regolith reflects between 7-10% of the light that shines on it, and the fake regolith reflected 8%.  When they took the picture this time, they could see the model of Neil Armstrong clearly, because the light reflected off the regolith, and hit Neil Armstrong’s white space suit.  This myth is also BUSTED.

The Myth: Vacuum Clean Up
Tory, Kari, and Grant also tested two myths in this episode, and they both needed to be tested in a vacuum chamber.  Conspiracy theorists state that an image of a flag that appears to flap must be faked.  Also, they claim that a boot print could not be clearly made in the dryness of lunar regolith.

The Expert:
Micheal K. Terry is a Vacuum Glove Technician for NASA.  He helped Kari, Tory, and Grant test these myths.

Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Tory: In your face, conspiracy theorists!

The Action/Results:
There is a piece of video from one of the moon landings that shows a flag being planted in the lunar soil, or regolith.  After the flag is planted, it appears to wave.  There is no wind on the Moon, so it can’t really wave.  This is the myth that Grant sets out to test.  At the same time, Tory tests the myth of the boot print left by one of the astronauts.  Wet sand hold prints better than dry sand, and since there is no atmosphere, there can be no water on the moon.  Therefore, a clear image of the boot print shouldn’t be possible.

Tory starts his test by having Kari step into wet sand and dry sand while wearing a moon boot.  As expected, the wet sand holds the print much better than the dry sand.  At the NASA facility in Alabama, Tory tests again, this time with a boot stomping machine, some material with the same composition as lunar regolith, and a vacuum.  Lunar regolith is made up of sharp grains of material, which have a tendency to stick together a lot better than rounded particles of sand.  Also, in a vacuum, even dry regolith picks up a print.  Myth BUSTED!

Grant makes the same flag assembly that was used by NASA during the missions.  He makes a rig to rock the flag as if it were being planted in the soil.  They put the whole rig in the vacuum chamber without sealing it, and the flag waves for a minute, and then stops.  When the air is evacuated from the chamber, the flag does not have any air to resist its movement, and so it waves for a much longer time.  Myth BUSTED!

The Myth: Slowed Film Fakery
Did NASA really fake us all out by filming the astronauts and then showing the film at a slower speed?

The Expert: Elizabeth A. Underwood is an expert from the Zero-G company who helped Adam and Jamie understand what would be happening when they were in the plane.

Memorable/Quotable Moments:

Jamie: I’ve got a lot of tools and gadgets and stuff – Adam has space suits.

Adam: By the way, I should point out that this isn’t a real spacesuit – it is just my wear around town spacesuit.

The Action/ Results:
Jamie and Adam tested this one by first identifying several movements that many of the astronauts did – running, skipping, and jumping – that show the effects of being in a lighter-gravity environment.  Then, to test the myth, Adam suited up and performed all of these actions while being filmed.  Next, the folks at Trapeze World made a special rig for Adam, so that he would only weigh 1/6 of what he normally does, so he could move as if he were on the moon.

Jamie compared these two pieces of video to the video from the moon, and found that there were some significant differences.  In the slowed down version, Adam’s helmet kept jerking around, and in the gravity rig version, his movements were not smooth enough.  So they needed a way to test this in a lighter gravity environment.

On the Zero-G plane, they found what they needed.  The plane flies parabolas and at the top of each parabola, the passengers experience 30 seconds of microgravity.  The pilot adjusted the parabolas to feel like 1/6 G instead of microgravity, and they tested the movements again.  Jamie stated, “ Nothing really compares to what we saw here on this plane, I as far as I am concerned, they went to the moon.”  Myth BUSTED!


The Myth: Moon Laser
This one wasn’t really a myth – more like a demonstration.  Adam and Jamie traveled to Apache Point, NM, where they found Dr. Russet McMillian, who helps to operate a laser that shoots beams at the moon.  The laser can shoot beams at a very special piece of equipment on the moon called a retroreflector, and some of the light that she shot at it will come back, if it hits the retroreflector.  So, she shot the laser twice.  The first time she shot the laser, it wasn’t aimed at the retroreflector.  Nothing bounced back.  The next time, she did aim at the retroreflector, and some of the light came back.  Jamie and Adam summed it up best.

Jamie: So, get over it!  There’s no conspiracy!
Adam: We’ve been there – we’ve done that.

Moon Landing Hoax - BUSTED