Got into a bit of a conversation about this a few days ago and came to the conclusion that the moon landing happened, but that the conspiracy theories were valid at the time they originally came out.
With that said, lets look at the facts. In such, lets, in general, follow the historical timeline (although, for the sake of time...My time, I'm not going to put in dates, but just follow the time line, in general). We have a lot of unrest in the country and need something that the entire country could focus on and then JFK Jr. Had it, we're going to the moon! This brought space flight to the forefront, and gave the US the spotlight. The timing was good. Some say a little too good. And the conspiracy theories began. So, what does NASA do next? Well, for the most part they leave the moon alone. They start looking farther out, and closer to home. Space shuttles start orbiting the Each, Mir goes up from Russia, and we utilize it for joint exploration from time to time, and all of these satellites heading out to distant planets, the moon has been somewhat forgotten. And here is where I solidify my belief that NASA has been on the moon:
SCIENTIFICALLY
-It's the closest, easiest to access celestial body to get to (other than earth!) and a good starting point before going abroad...So why go to mars if we don't have anything on the moon
-It is one of the most studied and revered celestial bodies (other than earth) except maybe that of the sun
-Since the Apollo trips, the moon hasn't been touched
-What does this mean? - simply, why would we avoid it for over 3 decades unless we already had plenty to study - point in case, we are only now looking at going back...30+ years is an appropriate time frame to study what we got the first time and in science you take things one at a time to insure quality and accuracy of work.
POLITICALLY
-A ton of money has gone into the NASA projects to explore celestial bodies in our solar system. Why just toss the moon research down the drain?
-The theories are few and far between...No big attention is put on 'em. Usually the cover-up and denial in political circles is more than enough to place guilt.
-It is more financially sound to look at the moon (if unexplored) than outlying planets and easier to justify.
-If I were president, and I learned that it was all a spoof, I'd be pushing for the moon in a second...It's a spot in history, for sure!
-We are working in conjunction with the countries we were at opposition with during the moon days, and they all concur that the moon thing has been done and that we've needed to focus on other things. Not only this, but the next moon exploration stuff is looking at setting a base of operations on the moon. Not a logical first step, but a logical next step after a site has been initially explored! - with this, is it prudent to think that, as a country, not only have our people been doped into thinking this, but that the wool has been pulled over the eyes of the entire world...Somehow I don't think we'd have the international space support we have if the other countries had any thought of deceit.
So, are there other ways to look at this? Ways that view the countries politicians as greedy, big-headed, and overly proud? Yes, sure there are. The argument stands that a cover-up of the whole thing has taken place and that those who know are just unwilling to admit their follies and deceptions, but, as I said, if this were the case the opportunities waylaid by this just don't add up, both scientifically and politically...And least I can't find the numbers in it.
posted by ~mike @ 2:30 PM
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