American astronauts who have been to the moon. What really happened when NASA astronauts landed on the moon? (8 photos)
MOSCOW, July 20 - RIA Novosti. Famed cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who personally prepared for participation in the Soviet lunar exploration program, denied years of rumors that American astronauts were not on the Moon, and the footage broadcast on television around the world was allegedly edited in Hollywood.
He spoke about this in an interview with RIA Novosti on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the first landing in the history of mankind of US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the surface of an Earth satellite, celebrated on July 20.
So were or weren't the Americans on the moon?
“Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the moon. And, unfortunately, this whole ridiculous epic about the allegedly fabricated footage in Hollywood began precisely with the Americans themselves. By the way, the first person who began to distribute these rumors, was imprisoned for slander," Aleksey Leonov noted in this regard.
Where did the rumors come from?
“It all started with the fact that when, at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the famous American film director Stanley Kubrick, who created his brilliant film Odyssey 2001 based on the book of science fiction writer Arthur Clarke, journalists who met with Kubrick’s wife asked to talk about her husband’s work on the film in Hollywood studios.And she honestly said that there are only two real lunar modules on Earth - one in a museum where no filming has ever been done, and it’s even forbidden to walk with a camera, and the other is in Hollywood, where, to develop the logic of what is happening on the screen and additional filming of the landing of the Americans on the moon was made," the Soviet cosmonaut specified.
Why was studio photography used?
Alexei Leonov explained that in order for the viewer to be able to see the development of what is happening on the movie screen from beginning to end, elements of additional filming are used in any movie.
“It was impossible, for example, to film the real opening of the hatch of the descent ship on the Moon by Neil Armstrong - there was simply no one to film it from the surface! For the same reason, it was impossible to film Armstrong’s descent to the Moon along the ladder from the ship. Kubrick in Hollywood studios to develop the logic of what is happening, and laid the foundation for numerous gossip that the entire landing was allegedly simulated on the set, "explained Alexei Leonov.
Where Truth Begins and Editing Ends
“Real shooting began when Armstrong, who first set foot on the Moon, got a little used to it, installed a highly directional antenna, through which the broadcast to Earth was carried out. its movement on the surface of the moon," the astronaut specified.
Why did the American flag fly in the airless space of the moon?
“They argue that the American flag was flying on the moon, but it shouldn’t be. The flag really shouldn’t be flying - the fabric was used with a rather rigid reinforced mesh, the cloth was twisted into a tube and tucked into a case. The astronauts took with them a nest, which they first inserted into the lunar soil, and then they stuck the flagpole into it, and only then removed the cover. And when the cover was removed, the flag's cloth began to unfold in conditions of reduced gravity, and the residual deformation of the springy reinforced mesh created the impression that the flag was rippling, as if in the wind " , - Alexey Leonov explained the "phenomenon".
“It is simply ridiculous and ridiculous to argue that the entire film was filmed on Earth. The United States had all the necessary systems that tracked the launch of the launch vehicle itself, acceleration, correction of the flight orbit, the descent capsule flying around the Moon and its landing,” - concluded the famous Soviet cosmonaut.
What did the "lunar race" lead to two space superpowers
“In my opinion, this is the best competition in space that humanity has ever carried out. The “moon race” between the USSR and the USA is the achievement of the highest peaks of science and technology,” Alexei Leonov believes.
According to him, after the flight of Yuri Gagarin, US President Kennedy, speaking in Congress, said that the Americans simply thought too late about what triumph could be achieved by launching a man into space, and therefore the Russians triumphantly became the first. Kennedy's message was clear: within ten years, put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth.
“This was a very true step of the great politician - he united and rallied the American nation to achieve this goal. Huge funds for those times were also involved - $ 25 billion, today, this is, perhaps, all fifty billion. The program included a flyby of the moon, then the flight of Tom Stafford to the point of hovering and selection of a site for landing on Apollo 10. Sending Apollo 11 already provided for the direct landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Michael Collins remained in orbit and waited for the return of his comrades, " - said Alexei Leonov.
18 Apollo-type ships were made to prepare for landing on the moon - the whole program was implemented perfectly, except for Apollo 13 - from the engineering point of view, nothing special happened there, it just failed, or rather, one of the fuel cells exploded , the energy weakened, and therefore it was decided not to land on the surface, but to fly around the Moon and return to Earth.
Alexei Leonov noted that only the first flight around the moon by Frank Bormann, then the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon and the story of Apollo 13 remained in the memory of the Americans. These accomplishments have brought the American nation together and made every individual empathize, walk with fingers crossed, and pray for their heroes. The last flight of the Apollo series was also extremely interesting: American astronauts no longer just walked on the Moon, but traveled on its surface in a special lunar car, making interesting photographs.
Actually there was a peak cold war, and in this situation, after the success of Yuri Gagarin, the Americans simply had to win the "moon race". The USSR then had its own lunar program, and we also implemented it. By 1968, it had already existed for two years, and even the crews of our cosmonauts were formed for a flight to the Moon.
On censorship of the achievements of mankind
"The launches of the Americans as part of the lunar program were broadcast on television, and only two countries in the world - the USSR and communist China - did not broadcast these historical footage to their peoples. I thought then, and now I think - in vain, we simply robbed our people "The flight to the moon is the property and achievement of all mankind. The Americans watched Gagarin's launch, Leonov's spacewalk - why couldn't the Soviet people see it?!", laments Alexei Leonov.
According to him, a limited group of Soviet space specialists watched these launches through a closed channel.
"We had on Komsomolsky Prospekt military unit 32103, which provided space broadcasting, since there was no MCC in Korolev then. We saw, unlike all other people in the USSR, the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon, broadcast by the United States to the whole world. The Americans set up a television antenna on the surface of the moon, and everything they did there was transmitted through a television camera to the Earth, several repetitions of these television broadcasts were also made. When Armstrong stepped on the surface of the moon, and everyone in the USA clapped, we here in the USSR, Soviet cosmonauts, also crossed our fingers for good luck, and sincerely wished the guys success, "the Soviet cosmonaut recalls.
How was the implementation of the Soviet lunar program
"In 1962, a decree was issued, signed personally by Nikita Khrushchev, on the creation spaceship for flying around the Moon and using the Proton launch vehicle with an upper stage for this launch. In 1964, Khrushchev signed a program for the USSR to carry out a flyby in 1967, and in 1968 - landing on the moon and returning to Earth. And in 1966, there was already a decree on the formation of lunar crews - a group was immediately recruited for landing on the moon," Alexei Leonov recalled.
The first stage of the flyby of the Earth satellite was to be carried out with the help of the launch of the L-1 lunar module by the Proton launch vehicle, and the second stage - landing and returning back - on the giant and most powerful N-1 rocket, equipped with thirty engines with a total thrust of 4.5 thousand tons with the weight of the rocket itself about 2 thousand tons. However, even after four test launches, this super-heavy rocket did not fly normally, so it had to be abandoned in the end.
Korolev and Glushko: the antipathy of two geniuses
"There were other options, for example, using a 600-ton engine developed by the brilliant designer Valentin Glushko, but Sergey Korolev refused it, since he worked on highly toxic heptyl. Although, in my opinion, this was not the reason - just two leaders , Korolev and Glushko - could not and did not want to work together. Their relationship had its own problems of a purely personal nature: Sergei Korolev, for example, knew that Valentin Glushko had once written a denunciation against him, as a result of which he was sentenced to ten years When Korolyov was released, he found out about this, but Glushko did not know that he knew about it, "said Alexei Leonov.
A small step for a man, but a giant leap for all mankind
NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft on July 20, 1969, with a crew of three astronauts: Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Aldrin, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, became the first to reach the Moon in the USSR-US space race. The Americans did not pursue research tasks in this expedition, its goal was simple: to land on the Earth's satellite and return successfully.
The ship consisted of a lunar module and a command module that remained in orbit during the mission. Thus, of the three astronauts, only two went to the moon: Armstrong and Aldrin. They had to land on the moon, collect samples of the lunar soil, take pictures on the Earth satellite and install several instruments. However, the main ideological component of the trip was still the hoisting of the American flag on the moon and the holding of a video communication session with the Earth.
The launch of the ship was watched by US President Richard Nixon and German rocket scientist Hermann Oberth. At the spaceport and mounted observation decks a total of about a million people watched the launch, and the television broadcast, according to the Americans, was watched by more than a billion people around the world.
Apollo 11 launched to the moon on July 16, 1969 at 1332 GMT and entered lunar orbit 76 hours later. The command and lunar modules were undocked about 100 hours after launch. Despite the fact that NASA intended to land on the lunar surface in automatic mode, Armstrong, as the expedition commander, decided to land the lunar module in semi-automatic mode.
The lunar module landed on the Sea of Tranquility on July 20 at 20:17:42 GMT. Armstrong descended to the lunar surface on July 21, 1969 at 02:56:20 GMT. Everyone knows the phrase that he uttered when he stepped on the moon: "This is one small step for a person, but a giant leap for all mankind."
Aldrin also landed on the moon 15 minutes later. The astronauts collected the necessary amount of materials, placed the instruments and installed a television camera. After that, they planted an American flag in the field of view of the camera and held a communication session with President Nixon. The astronauts left a commemorative plaque on the Moon with the words: "Here, people from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon. July 1969 of the new era. We came in peace on behalf of all Humanity."
Aldrin was on the moon for about an hour and a half, Armstrong for two hours and ten minutes. At the 125th hour of the mission and the 22nd hour of stay on the Moon, the lunar module was launched from the surface of the Earth's satellite. The crew splashed down on the blue planet about 195 hours after the start of the mission, soon the astronauts were picked up by the aircraft carrier that came to the rescue.
In fact, the Americans did not land on the moon, and the entire Apollo program is a hoax, conceived in order to create the image of a great state in the United States. The lecturer showed an American film that debunks the legend of the landing of astronauts on the moon. The following contradictions seemed particularly convincing.
The American flag on the moon, where there is no atmosphere, flaps as if it were being blown by air currents.
Look at the photo allegedly taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Armstrong and Aldrin are the same height, and the shadow of one of the astronauts is one and a half times longer than the other. Probably, they were illuminated from above by a spotlight, which is why the shadows of different lengths turned out, like from a street lamp. By the way, who took this photo? After all, both astronauts are in the frame at once.
There are many other technical inconsistencies: the image in the frame does not twitch, the size of the shadow does not match the position of the Sun, and so on. The lecturer argued that the historical footage of the astronauts' walks on the moon was made in Hollywood, and the corner light reflectors, by which the paratroopers' parameters were specified, were simply dropped from automatic probes. In 1969-1972, Americans flew to the moon 7 times. With the exception of the Apollo 13 emergency flight, 6 expeditions were successful. Each time, one cosmonaut remained in orbit, while two landed on the moon. Each stage of these flights was recorded literally every minute, detailed documentation and logbooks have been preserved. More than 380 kg of lunar rock was brought to Earth, 13,000 photographs were taken, a seismograph and other instruments were installed on the Moon, equipment, a lunar vehicle and a battery-powered self-propelled gun were tested. Moreover, the astronauts found and delivered to Earth a camera from a probe that visited the Moon two years before man. In the laboratory on this camera, the terrestrial bacteria streptococci that survived in outer space were found. This discovery turned out to be important for understanding the fundamental laws of survival and distribution of living matter in the Universe. In America, they argue whether the Americans went to the moon. In principle, nothing surprising, because in Spain, after the return of Columbus, there were also disputes about what new continents he discovered. Such disputes are inevitable new earth will not be easily accessible to everyone. But only a dozen people have walked on the moon so far. Despite the fact that in the USSR there was no live broadcast of Neil Armstrong's first walk on the Moon, our and American scientists worked closely in processing scientific results the Apollo expeditions. The USSR possessed a rich photo archive, which was compiled on the basis of the results of several flights of the Luna spacecraft, as well as samples of lunar soil. Thus, the Americans had to negotiate not only with Hollywood, but also with the USSR, competition with which could be the only argument in favor of the hoax. I must add that Hollywood at that time had not even heard of computer graphics and simply did not have the technique to fool the whole world. As for the footprint of the astronaut Konrad, then, as explained to us at the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where lunar soil samples are studied, since the lunar regolith is a very loose rock, the imprint must have remained. There is no air on the Moon, regolith does not dust there and does not scatter to the sides, as on Earth, where it immediately turns into swirling dust underfoot. And the flag behaved as it should. Although there is no and cannot be wind on the Moon, any material (wires, cables, cords) that the astronauts unrolled in low gravity, under the influence of an imbalance of forces, wriggled for several seconds and then froze. Finally, the strange static image is explained by the fact that the astronauts did not hold the camera in their hands, like terrestrial operators, but mounted it on tripods screwed to their chests. The US lunar program could not be a spectacle also because a very high price was paid for it. One of the Apollo crews died during an earth training, the Apollo 13 crew returned to Earth without reaching the Moon. Yes, and NASA's $25 billion financial outlay for the Apollo program has been repeatedly reviewed by numerous audit committees. The version that the Americans did not fly to the moon is not the first fresh sensation. Now in America, an even more exotic legend is growing by leaps and bounds. It turns out (and there is documentary evidence for this), a man still visited the moon. But it wasn't american man. And the Soviet one! The USSR sent cosmonauts to the Moon to service their numerous lunar rovers and instruments. But the USSR did not inform the world about these expeditions, because they were suicide cosmonauts. They were not destined to return to their Soviet homeland. American astronauts allegedly saw the skeletons of these nameless heroes on the moon. According to the explanation of specialists from the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where cosmonauts are being prepared for the flight, approximately the same changes will occur with a corpse in a spacesuit on the Moon as with an old can of canned food. There are no decay bacteria on the Moon, and therefore an astronaut, with all his will, cannot turn into a skeleton.
Since ancient times, people have been attracted by the excessive mystery and even the mystical energy of the moon. Let the heavenly night luminary not warm, but rather evoke cold thoughts, unlike the Sun. However, it is just as important because it is the first and only natural companion our planet. Many astronauts have spent half their lives preparing and flying to it. However, now, perhaps, even the most erudite person will not say on the Moon, and even more so how many still have to set foot on its surface.
The moon is Earth's twin
Our planet and its satellite are very often called twins, but this is just a joke, since they are not similar in appearance, let alone in size. The mass of the moon is only a smaller part the weight of the Earth, about 0.0123, its diameter is comparable to a quarter of the earth's (about 3476 km). But even despite such a difference, the night luminary is considered to be a fairly large satellite, only the satellites of Jupiter (Io, Ganymede and Callisto) and (Titan) surpass it in size. Along with the larger planets, the Moon is the fifth largest among the satellites, while the Earth itself is in the same fifth, but already in the list of heavyweight planets. Such a coincidence is quite rare. Surely all studies could not be so reliable if we did not know how many people have already visited the moon and contributed to the knowledge of this unusual celestial body.
So why are the Earth and its satellite - double planets? Superstitious astronomers believe that such differences in size are extremely small, because if we take, for example, Mars with its Phobos, the largest of all the "approximate" Red Planet, then it is so small that, if it were in the place of the Moon, not only earthly residents, but even special equipment could not see it.
Who was the first to walk on the moon?
Every schoolchild knows the famous photograph showing the legendary landing on the surface of our satellite. Also, everyone knows the name of this man - Neil Armstrong. But how many people were on the Moon after him, and did anyone dare to leave their mark on the dusty surface of the night star before that? Of course, many scientists and engineers worked on the creation of specialized devices for landing on the moon, but still their attempts turned out to be fruitless. One has only to imagine how happy such a breakthrough brought the American government and how happy they were to finally overtake the Soviet Union.
Be that as it may, but after Yuri Gagarin's flight into space, the forces of the best engineers were thrown into the construction of the rocket, the best resources were bought, again the best conditions were created in order to become better.
So, thanks to the desire to succeed in many years of struggle, in 1969 the command was given from Earth to launch the American Apollo 11, and, without a doubt, the ship went into space with a crew in the person of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. But whether he landed on the moon and how the famous picture was taken is still unclear. But still, after that, the Americans were proud that they were the people who had been on the moon. The photo was distributed in all newspapers, on all channels and advertising stands. The Americans were proud of their victory over the USSR and showed it as best they could.
How many people, so many opinions
While the Americans showed the “live report” from space to the whole world, where the astronauts put their flag, the Russians and the Chinese bit their elbows, because they were denied such an honor. How many people were on the moon that year, whether they were there and how to prove it, still remains a mystery, because there are a lot of reasons for doubt.
Firstly, a few months before the decisive flight, during testing, the equipment was seriously damaged, as it was not brought to mind. It was simply impossible to repair it in such a short time, but the flight took place, and very successfully.
Secondly, Soviet satellites during their patrol earth's surface in the Nevada desert noticed fake lunar craters, and the territory looked like a real moon, thus, it was concluded that the Americans really beat the Russians in a cunning competition.
Thirdly, a flag planted on the surface of the Moon flutters in the wind, but where did the wind come from? And finally, the shadows fall in different directions, it's really strange, because they didn't bring lamps and spotlights with them from the Earth, so that the pictures turned out to be more successful?
Points of view
As far as we know, they did not immediately begin to doubt, at first even the most inexperienced believed that the landing on the earth's satellite really took place, but this did not last long, because surprise passes with time, giving way to common sense. After some time, even literature began to appear, they began to act documentaries, while those who were too daring directly expressed their opinion about a quality or not very good production.
Skeptics are divided into two camps: some believe that the astronauts did not even get into a rocket, not to mention space flights, and landing on the moon, in their opinion, occurred due to the professionalism of the editors. The latter turned out to be realists and decided that the flight into space had been completed, but the astronauts probably only circled the Moon around.
No matter how many doubts there are and no matter how much evidence of deception is found, Americans are still people who have been to the moon. The Russian cosmonauts have not added their names to the list yet, perhaps this will happen in the near future.
List of people who have walked on the moon
According to official figures, 12 US astronauts have landed on the moon. Probably, of all the people who officially flew to the moon, only Neil Armstrong is known, and this is completely understandable, because, as they say, after returning to his homeland in 1969, all the laurels went to him, since he was the first to leave the spacecraft. But there were other people who visited the names of these “lucky ones” today in the public domain, since so far the space competition between our country and the United States has ceased.
The first landing was carried out by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 21, 1969 and lasted over 21 hours. The first flight gave rise to the second, in the rocket were two astronauts: Charles Conrad and Alan Bean, they stayed on the moon for 31 hours and 31 minutes. Subsequently, they landed on the moon:
- Alan Shepard;
- Edgar Mitchell;
- David Scott;
- James Irwin;
- John Young;
- Charles Duke.
Over the years, the amount of time spent in zero gravity has increased, the highest figure was the last flight made in 1972 by Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. They stayed on the night light for 75 hours.
Earth Satellite Facts
We cannot say exactly how many people were on the moon and whether there is any point in distrusting the Americans. It is better to vouch for already verified facts. For example, in fact, the satellite does not revolve around the Earth, it always moves near it at the same speed. Also, few people know that during the space expedition in 1971, tree seedlings were taken from the surface of the Moon, now they grow in the United States.
Ask someone if they know the names of astronauts who have already been on the moon. Most people will probably name Neil Armstrong, and maybe even Buzz Aldrin. However, can you name the rest of the Apollo astronauts who have been on the surface of the moon? A total of twelve people have landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first, in addition to them, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Dugue, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt entered the surface of our natural satellite. It is interesting that all these people have visited the moon only once.
On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong made history by becoming the first person to walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin soon followed. In total, Neal and Buzz spent 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds on the Moon. During the spacewalk, they collected rock samples, set up an American flag, a seismograph, and a reflective device used to measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon using lasers.
Pete Conrad and Alan Bean walked on the lunar surface as part of the Apollo 12 mission. The Apollo 12 crew survived two lightning strikes immediately after their rocket was launched on November 14, 1969. All systems were restored and the crew made a safe landing. Conrad and Bean spent two days on the moon.
The next two astronauts to walk on the Moon were Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14) on February 5, 1971. Shepard and Mitchell made two exits in outer space and conducted seismic experiments.
David Scott and James Irwin landed on the moon on July 31, 1971 as part of the Apollo 15 mission. They spent 3 days on the surface of the satellite. Astronauts used a lunar rover for the first time and were able to collect 77 kg of lunar rock samples.
The next astronauts to walk on the moon were John Young and Charles Dugue. When the crew reached lunar orbit, the mission almost had to be aborted due to a technical problem, but they still managed to land. Yang and Doug stayed on the Moon for three days, during which time they traveled 26.7 kilometers on the lunar rover.
The last people to walk on the moon were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, who landed on December 11, 1972. Before returning to Earth, Cernan scratched his daughter Tracy's initials into the lunar regolith. Since there are no weather conditions on the Moon such as rain or wind, the initials will remain there for very long years.
Chown Marcus universe tweets
27. How many people have been to the moon?
Only twelve people have walked on the moon. Only nine of them are still alive. The youngest, Charles Duke ( Apollo 16), born October 3, 1935.
President John F. Kennedy reported on the Apollo lunar program in a famous speech to the US Congress on May 25, 1961: "...before the end of this decade..."
Apollo 8 and 10 flew to the moon and back without landing. In 1970 Apollo 13 also had to return without landing due to an accident.
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 landed on the moon. In each case, two astronauts went to the surface, while one remained in the command module in orbit around the moon.
July 21, 1969 landed on the moon Apollo 11. The 1st person to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong (age 38); 2nd - Buzz Aldrin (39 years old). They spent 2 hours and 24 minutes on the lunar surface.
Lunokhod (lunar buggy) covered long distances that the crews had to explore Apollo 15(27.8 km), 16 (26.6 km) and 17 (35.9 km).
December 14, 1972. The last man to walk on the moon - Eugene Cernan (38 years old) on Apollo 17. Programs for Apollo 18, 19, 20 canceled due to lack of government support.
The astronauts returned with 382 kg of lunar rock. Detailed Analysis showed that the Moon had probably broken away from the newborn Earth.
Three astronauts have flown to the moon twice: James Lovell (Apollo 8/13), John Young (Apollo 10/16) and Eugene Cernan (Apollo 10/17) Lovell never landed.
Number of people who have flown to the Moon (with or without landing): 21. No other astronauts have ever been more than a few hundred kilometers from Earth.
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