WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING / 111 CLAIMS RATED
Each claim is a proposition people repeat about the Apollo Moon landings, the hoax theory and the people involved, rated against the public record as of 23 October 2026. Each claim is stated as its believers would put it and rated on evidence alone. Where a doubter’s point is true, it is rated true. A starting point for research: new evidence may change these ratings. Grouped by rating, then topic.
← Interactive, filterable board · All Moon case files
The 4 October 1957 launch raised fears about Soviet missiles and pushed the US into a crash program.
Who says it: Historians.
Sources: NASA: Dawn of the Space Age ↗
He asked Congress on 25 May 1961.
Who says it: The speech record.
Sources: U.S. House archive: Kennedy’s May 25, 1961 message ↗
He raised it at the UN in September 1963.
Who says it: The speech record.
Sources: JFK Library archive: UN General Assembly speech, September 20, 1963 ↗
Wernher von Braun and other Operation Paperclip engineers led the Saturn V work.
Who says it: Historians.
Sources: Smithsonian NASM: Project Paperclip and American rocketry after World War II ↗
Its lineage runs through the Army’s Redstone and Jupiter work.
Who says it: NASA history.
Sources: NASA Science: Saturn V rocket ↗
That is the usual figure in 1960s–70s dollars.
Who says it: NASA budget records.
Sources: NASA retrospective: Apollo’s legacy and $25.4 billion historical cost ↗
NASA and Minuteman orders were early, big buyers of integrated circuits.
Who says it: Historians.
Sources: Smithsonian NASM: Apollo Guidance Computer and the first silicon chips ↗ · Computer History Museum: first planar integrated circuit ↗
Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter mapped and tested the surface.
Who says it: NASA records.
Sources: NASA: Lunar Ranger and Surveyor programs ↗ · NASA: Surveyor 1 makes a soft landing ↗
Rendezvous, docking and spacewalks were practised in Earth orbit.
Who says it: NASA records.
Sources: NASA: Project Gemini, Apollo’s training ground ↗ · NASA: Gemini XII masters the challenges of spacewalks ↗
Its lander descended to about 9 miles above the surface.
Who says it: NASA records.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 10 mission details ↗
Accounts say he did, to protest its problems.
Who says it: Crew and family accounts.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 1 ↗
He testified to Congress and died days later in a car crash. His warnings were real; no link to the crash was shown.
Who says it: Congressional records.
Sources: NASA History: Thomas Baron (excerpt, Chariots for Apollo, SP-4205) ↗
NASA changed the hatch, materials and launch-pad atmosphere.
Who says it: NASA review board.
Sources: Robert Seamans statement during Apollo 204 review (February 25, 1967) ↗
Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility.
Who says it: NASA mission report.
It held until Artemis II in April 2026.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 13 mission page ↗ · NASA: NASA welcomes record-setting Artemis II moonfarers back to Earth (10 April 2026) ↗
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
Who says it: NASA records.
NASA added a crossbar to hold it out in vacuum.
Who says it: NASA records.
A UV camera on the surface imaged stars and Earth.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA NTRS: Apollo16 ultraviolet astronomical camera observations ↗
On 4 August 1972; a surface crew could have received about 600 rem to the skin.
Who says it: ALSJ, NCRP.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Radiation Environment and dosimeter readings ↗
David Scott did it live on Apollo 15.
Who says it: NASA video.
They flew Zero-G parabolas after a harness rig proved inadequate.
Who says it: collectSPACE.
Sources: collectSPACE: MythBusters take on the Moon landing hoax (August 2008) ↗
Bean pointed it at the sun.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 12 Makes a Pinpoint Landing on the Moon ↗
The crew removed its camera, now at the Smithsonian.
Who says it: JPL.
Sources: NASA JPL: Surveyor 3 Camera Returned from the Moon ↗
LRO shows descent stages, tracks and equipment.
Who says it: NASA LROC.
Sources: LRO images offer sharper views of Apollo 12, 14 and 17 sites (NASA SVS, 2011) ↗ · LRO explores the Apollo 11 landing site (NASA, 2017) ↗
Its instruments imaged the Apollo 15 site area.
Who says it: ISRO.
Sources: ISRO science results from Chandrayaan-2: OHRC instrument and anthropogenic sites ↗ · ISRO Chandrayaan-2 science instruments ↗
JAXA reported the halo from the descent engine.
Who says it: JAXA.
Sources: JAXA: Kaguya finds Apollo 15 exhaust halo and matching terrain (May 20, 2008; Japanese original) ↗
It imaged the Apollo 11 and 17 areas.
Who says it: KARI via Dong-A.
Sources: Dong-A Science: Danuri photographs the Apollo landing sites (26 September 2023) ↗
Observatories bounce lasers off them.
Who says it: Laser ranging papers.
Sources: Battat and colleagues: Fifteen years of millimeter accuracy lunar laser ranging with APOLLO (2023) ↗ · Science: Laser beam directed at the lunar retro-reflector array, observations of the first returns (1969) ↗
Lunokhod 1 and 2 had French-built reflectors.
Who says it: Laser ranging records.
Sources: Murphy and colleagues: Laser ranging to the lost Lunokhod 1 reflector (2010) ↗
Recent papers on water and oxygen use them.
Who says it: Peer-reviewed papers.
Sources: Saal and colleagues: Volatile content of lunar volcanic glasses and water in the lunar interior (Nature, 2008) ↗ · Ireland and colleagues: Isotopic enhancements from solar wind particles in lunar regolith (Nature, 2006) ↗
The Rijksmuseum’s gift to Willem Drees was tested in 2009.
Who says it: NBC, Rijksmuseum.
Sources: AP via NBC News: “Moon rock” in museum is just petrified wood (27 August 2009) ↗ · Rijksmuseum: Moon rock received by Drees from the American ambassador (object NG-1991-4-25) ↗
Jodrell Bank recorded it and Luna 15.
Who says it: Jodrell Bank.
Sources: The Moon landing and Jodrell Bank (2024 institutional history) ↗ · Jodrell Bank: Recordings of Luna 15’s attempt to beat Apollo 11 (3 July 2009) ↗
Parkes took over from Honeysuckle Creek about eight minutes in.
Who says it: CSIRO.
Sources: CSIRO: Murriyang, the Parkes radio telescope, and the Apollo 11 Moon landing ↗
Luna 15 crashed on 21 July after 52 orbits.
Who says it: NASA, Jodrell Bank.
Sources: Jodrell Bank: Recordings of Luna 15’s attempt to beat Apollo 11 (3 July 2009) ↗ · NASA NSSDC: Impact sites of lunar spacecraft ↗
Soviet leaders hosted American astronauts.
Who says it: NASA history.
Sources: NASA: 50 years ago, the U.S. and Soviet Union sign a space cooperation agreement ↗
They were very likely erased and reused in a tape shortage.
Who says it: NASA 2009 report.
Sources: collectSPACE: “Lost tapes” lost for good, NASA releases restored footage (16 July 2009) ↗ · NASA: Apollo 11 Telemetry Data Recordings, final report ↗
Sotheby’s sold tapes bought at a 1976 surplus auction.
Who says it: CNBC.
Sources: CNBC: Apollo 11 Moon landing tapes sell at Sotheby’s for $1.8 million (20 July 2019) ↗
Using Sydney, CBS and JSC copies.
Who says it: NASA.
Apollo 20 in January 1970; 18 and 19 in September.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 18 through 20, the cancelled missions ↗ · NASA: Apollo 13 preparation and cancellation of Apollo 20 ↗
A judge threw out the case.
Who says it: The Independent.
His 1974–76 self-published work is the usual starting point.
Who says it: Historians.
Sources: Smithsonian / Roger Launius: Yes, the US Landed Humans on the Moon ↗ · University of Manchester / Peter Knight: How moon landing conspiracy theories began ↗
It posted responses and a teachers’ guide.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA Marshall “Liftoff” archive: The Great Moon Hoax (30 March 2001; archived) ↗ · NASA NTRS: Did We Really Land on the Moon? Suggestions for Science Teachers ↗
Video shows one punch; no charges were filed.
Who says it: LA Times.
Sources: Los Angeles Times: No charges for Aldrin in punch (21 September 2002) ↗
The DA’s office said he arranged to surprise Aldrin and called him a liar.
Who says it: LA Times.
Sources: Los Angeles Times: No charges for Aldrin in punch (21 September 2002) ↗
In April 1968.
Who says it: NASA history.
Sources: NASA history: 1968 Welcomed 2001 ↗
Sean Duffy wrote: “Yes, we’ve been to the Moon before... 6 times!”
Who says it: BBC.
Sources: BBC: NASA responds after Kim Kardashian says Moon landing was fake (3 November 2025) ↗
Aldrin reported a light moving alongside them.
Who says it: Aldrin.
Sources: Business Insider: Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 “UFO” encounter (July 2014) ↗
Gallup 1999 and later polls agree.
Who says it: Gallup, AP.
Sources: Gallup: Landing a Man on the Moon, the public’s view (July 1999) ↗ · AP: Polls show 5–6% of Americans believe the Moon landing was faked (July 2019) ↗
YouGov found more doubt among the under-50s.
Who says it: YouGov.
Sources: YouGov, Kathy Frankovic: 50 years later, was the Moon landing worth it? (19 July 2019) ↗
Four astronauts flew 252,756 miles from Earth.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: NASA welcomes record-setting Artemis II moonfarers back to Earth (10 April 2026) ↗
It is now a 2027 Earth-orbit test; Artemis IV is to land in 2028.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: NASA adds mission to Artemis lunar program, updates architecture (27 February 2026) ↗ · NASA: NASA marches toward Artemis III mission in 2027, names crew members (9 June 2026) ↗
VIPER was cancelled in July 2024.
Who says it: NASA.
Sources: NASA: NASA ends VIPER project, continues Moon exploration (July 2024) ↗
NASA was set up as a civilian agency, but Cold War security and prestige drove the funding.
Who says it: Critics of the space race.
Sources: National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, original text ↗ · NASA: The National Aeronautics and Space Act creates NASA ↗
He said he meant “a man”; the article is hard to hear.
Who says it: ALSJ.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 11, One Small Step ↗
LRO images show flag shadows at later sites; Aldrin saw Apollo 11’s blown over at liftoff.
Who says it: LROC team.
LRO is NASA’s, but India and others have imaged sites too.
Who says it: Skeptics.
Sources: ISRO science results from Chandrayaan-2: OHRC instrument and anthropogenic sites ↗
Chang’e-2’s 7 m images cannot resolve descent stages.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: LRO images offer sharper views of Apollo 12, 14 and 17 sites (NASA SVS, 2011) ↗
He visited in 1967 but to study conditions, before any lunar meteorite was known.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: New York Times: U.S. space experts to study Antarctica for lunar lessons (4 January 1967) ↗
He did, about rebuilding Moon capability.
Who says it: IBT.
Sources: IBTimes UK: Don Pettit, next logical step is to go back to the Moon (2016) ↗
He led technical publications and left in the early 1960s.
Who says it: Kaysing.
That was Fox’s own figure.
Who says it: Fox, via Slate.
Sources: Slate: Fox’s 2001 special “Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?” (July 2019) ↗
The 1970 finding is now often blamed on contamination after return.
Who says it: Later NASA review.
Sources: Surveyor 3 returned material: surface organics analysis (1972) ↗
No evidence supports it. The fire was traced to a spark in a pure-oxygen cabin.
Who says it: Grissom’s son Scott and conspiracy writers.
Sources: NASA: Apollo 1 ↗ · Robert Seamans statement during Apollo 204 review (February 25, 1967) ↗
We found no published poll behind it.
Who says it: Fox officials.
Sources: Slate: Fox’s 2001 special “Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?” (July 2019) ↗
None was invented by NASA, though some were used in space.
Who says it: Popular lore.
Sources: NASA Spinoff: inventions NASA did and did not create ↗
The guidance computer ran at about 2 MHz and did a narrow job well, backed by ground computers.
Who says it: Hoax videos.
Sources: NASA: Computers in Spaceflight, Apollo hardware decisions ↗
A damaged oxygen tank exploded; NASA’s review found the cause.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: NASA: 50 years ago, “Houston, we’ve had a problem” (13 April 2020) ↗ · NASA: Apollo 13 mission page ↗
It moved only while being handled; a rod held it out, and it then stayed still.
Who says it: Kaysing, Fox 2001.
Sources: NASA NTRS: Where No Flag Has Gone Before ↗ · NASA history: One Small Step, One Giant Leap ↗
Fast exposures set for a sunlit surface cannot capture faint stars.
Who says it: Kaysing and others.
Sources: NASA Science: Where Are the Stars? ↗
Uneven ground and perspective make parallel shadows look non-parallel.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: NASA history: Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo ↗
The sunlit surface reflects light into shadows.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: NASA history: Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo ↗
The C is on some prints but not the original film; it was a hair or fiber in copying.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 16 image library ↗ · Stuart Robbins, Exposing PseudoAstronomy: The prop rock labeled with a “C” (2008) ↗
The crosshairs are on a glass plate; bright areas bleed over thin black lines.
Who says it: Fox 2001.
Sources: NASA history: Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo ↗
The engine was throttled down and the soil is firm under a thin dust layer.
Who says it: Kaysing, Fox 2001.
Sources: Apollo 11: contemporary public-affairs mission report ↗
In vacuum, dust flew away on straight paths instead of settling.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: NASA Science: Moon Dust ↗
Sibrel’s clip is cut from footage that shows the full disk at distance.
Who says it: Bart Sibrel.
Sources: Clavius: Review of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon” ↗
Distant mountains look the same from nearby points; foregrounds differ.
Who says it: Fox 2001.
Sources: NASA history: Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo ↗
Crews crossed quickly; skin doses averaged 0.46 rad.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Radiation Environment and dosimeter readings ↗ · Apollo Experience Report: Protection Against Radiation, 1973 ↗
Kelly Smith spoke of the danger to Orion’s electronics on an uncrewed test.
Who says it: Viral clip.
Sources: NASA: NASA Premieres ‘Trial By Fire’ Video on Orion’s Flight Test (release 14-278, 8 October 2014) ↗ · FlatEarth.ws: Orion EFT-1, Apollo and the Van Allen Radiation Belts ↗
Dust flies in clean arcs, and a hammer and feather fall together.
Who says it: Fox 2001.
Sources: NASA Science: Apollo 15 Hammer-Feather Drop ↗ · NASA Science: Moon Dust ↗
Jagged lunar grains lock together and hold a shape.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: NASA NTRS: Lunar soil engineering properties and cohesive strength ↗
In vacuum, heat moves slowly; cameras were silvered and film was in magazines.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: NASA history: Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo ↗
Suits had water-cooled garments and sublimators.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: NASA NTRS: Apollo IEVA Spacesuit Origins and Development ↗
A camera on the lander filmed him.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: Apollo 11: contemporary public-affairs mission report ↗
Ed Fendell sent timed commands from Houston.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: NASA oral history: Edward Fendell, October 19, 2000 ↗
Hubble’s resolution at the Moon is far too coarse.
Who says it: Popular claim.
Sources: LRO images offer sharper views of Apollo 12, 14 and 17 sites (NASA SVS, 2011) ↗
Returns come sharply from the reflector sites.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: Battat and colleagues: Fifteen years of millimeter accuracy lunar laser ranging with APOLLO (2023) ↗
They lack water and show cosmic-ray exposure and features labs worldwide have confirmed.
Who says it: Hoax books.
Sources: NASA: Apollo samples yield new information about the Moon (2025) ↗ · Lunar and Planetary Institute: Lunar Sample Atlas ↗
The first lunar meteorite was found in 1982, after Apollo.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: Meteoritical Bulletin: Allan Hills A81005, the first recognized lunar meteorite ↗
Its origin was never documented; the official Dutch gift is real.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: AP via NBC News: “Moon rock” in museum is just petrified wood (27 August 2009) ↗
It would have to land and talk live.
Who says it: Skeptics.
Sources: John Sarkissian: On Eagle’s Wings, Parkes support of Apollo 11 (PASA, 2001) ↗
They tracked Apollo and never claimed fakery.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: NASA: 50 years ago, the U.S. and Soviet Union sign a space cooperation agreement ↗ · Jodrell Bank: Recordings of Luna 15’s attempt to beat Apollo 11 (3 July 2009) ↗
He said reshoots were staged in a studio, which is not documented.
Who says it: Russian interviews.
The 1970s reuse covered hundreds of thousands of tapes.
Who says it: Hoax sites.
Sources: collectSPACE: “Lost tapes” lost for good, NASA releases restored footage (16 July 2009) ↗
Engineering records survive; what is gone is the factory and tooling.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: NASA history: Apollo 20 cancellation and the closed Saturn V production line ↗
The Saturn V line was closed in 1968; the industry must be rebuilt.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: NASA history: Apollo 20 cancellation and the closed Saturn V production line ↗ · IBTimes UK: Don Pettit, next logical step is to go back to the Moon (2016) ↗
It shows anger at being called a liar.
Who says it: Sibrel supporters.
Sources: Los Angeles Times: No charges for Aldrin in punch (21 September 2002) ↗
An actor played him in a T. Patrick Murray film.
Who says it: Viral video.
Sources: Snopes: Did Stanley Kubrick confess to faking the Moon landing? ↗ · Reuters Fact Check: Actor playing Stanley Kubrick discusses staging Moon landing ↗
It was from the 2018 film First Man.
Who says it: Viral video.
Sources: Snopes: Did Stanley Kubrick confess to faking the Moon landing? ↗
He was answering why no one had gone back.
Who says it: Viral clip.
Sources: Snopes: Did Buzz Aldrin admit the Moon landing never happened? (2018) ↗
NASA replied it had been to the Moon six times.
Who says it: Kardashian.
Sources: BBC: NASA responds after Kim Kardashian says Moon landing was fake (3 November 2025) ↗
The line does not appear in the transcripts; Armstrong denied it.
Who says it: A joke circulating since 1995.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Neil’s urban myth (“Good luck, Mr. Gorsky”) ↗
Ghosting came from scan conversion of slow-scan TV.
Who says it: Viral videos.
Sources: Discover: This is why the Apollo 11 moonwalkers look ghostly ↗
They came from scan converters on Earth.
Who says it: Viral videos.
Sources: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 11 scan converter spots ↗
He said it was sunlight on a panel from their own rocket.
Who says it: TV documentary edit.
Sources: Business Insider: Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 “UFO” encounter (July 2014) ↗ · Reuters Fact Check: Buzz Aldrin did not claim to have seen aliens on the way to the Moon ↗
Apollo 20 was cancelled in 1970.
Who says it: Online videos.
Sources: Reuters Fact Check: No evidence of human remains dubbed “Mona Lisa” found on the Moon ↗ · NASA: Apollo 13 preparation and cancellation of Apollo 20 ↗
Fact-checkers found the viral images were AI-altered.
Who says it: Viral posts, April 2026.
Sources: Reuters Fact Check: AI-altered images of Earth misrepresented as Apollo 8 and Artemis II photos (15 April 2026) ↗ · AFP Fact Check: Artemis II Earth images (April 2026) ↗
Most polls find about one in twenty.
Who says it: Headlines.
Sources: AEI, Karlyn Bowman: The Moon Landing and Beyond (16 July 2019) ↗
Viral “proof” was AI or old images.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: PolitiFact: Moon photos shared as Artemis II images are AI or old NASA images (8 April 2026) ↗ · AFP Fact Check: Broadcast caption error does not show Artemis II was staged (2026) ↗
Fact-checkers found it was a broadcast caption error.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: AFP Fact Check: Broadcast caption error does not show Artemis II was staged (2026) ↗
They were AI-made or old.
Who says it: Viral posts.
Sources: PolitiFact: Moon photos shared as Artemis II images are AI or old NASA images (8 April 2026) ↗
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