Did man really land on the ?

Aims: To decide, based on the evidence provided, whether you think Neil

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin really landed on the moon.

Activity – Match the word to the correct meaning using the same colours for word and meaning:- Word Meaning USA This is the layer of gases that surrounds Earth. It is often called air and is made up of nitrogen and oxygen. USSR This was a period of tension between the democracies of the Western World led by the USA and the communist countries of Eastern Europe led by the USSR. These two countries never officially declared war on each other but they fought each other indirectly in wars such as the space race from 1945 to 1991. superpower This was a 20th-century (1955–1972) competition between the two Cold War rivals, the USA and USSR for supremacy in space travel capability. Cold War The of America (USA), also referred to as the United States (U.S.) or America, is situated in central North America between Canada and Mexico. Space race This can also be called a world power, major power, great power. It is an extremely strong state that is powerful enough to influence events in weaker nations throughout the whole world. atmosphere The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics abbreviated to USSR and shortened to the Soviet Union was a state on the Eurasian continent that existed between 1922 and 1991. It was a union of many countries governed centrally by a communist government from Moscow in Russia.

1 Introduction

 In the 1950s and 1960s, mankind left the Earth’s atmosphere for the first time and began to explore outer space.  The USA and the USSR were the two countries which led the way, sending machines, animals and later humans into the inky blackness. They were the two most powerful nations on the planet and were known as superpowers, but rather than working together they were competing in a ‘space race’ during what was known as the ‘Cold War’ which occurred after World War II.  This was a race to be the first to conquer space and put a man on the moon. Both sides were determined to prove that their country and way of life were superior.

2 Timeline of Important Events

Year Events 1957 First satellite placed in the earth’s orbit by the Soviet Union named Sputnik. Less than a month after Sputnik was launched the Soviets sent a dog into orbit named Laika.

1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to travel into space. The cosmonaut made a 108 minute orbit of the Earth on board his Vostok 1 spacecraft.

1965 First space walk by Alexei Leonov who stepped outside his Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

1969 American Apollo 11 mission delivered astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the surface of the moon. Millions watched Armstrong’s first historic steps. Neil Armstrong said ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!’.

Activity - Match the events on the timeline to the pictures below:-

Photograph Event and Year

Activity

Study the timeline and discuss who you think won the space race? Was it the Soviet Union or the United States? Explain your answer below:-

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3. The Controversy Begins

The following paragraph has no punctuation. Using a different colour pen, insert the correct capital letters, commas and full stops where appropriate:-

Activity when yuri gagarin, a russian cosmonaut became the first human to orbit the earth it seemed as if the soviet union had won the space race… but not for long the us president john f kennedy responded by setting what many thought was an impossible target ‘to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth … by 1970!’ just eight years later on 20 July 1969 americas apollo 11 mission triumphed and neil armstrong became the first man to walk on the surface of another world to many people this was more of an achievement than putting one in space showing americas greatness and superiority over the russians nevertheless as photographs and film were released some people began to say the whole mission including the moon landing itself was faked

Study the following sources A to C, in pairs and decide whether you agree that the mission was a fake.

SOURCE A

SOURCE B

 Can you see the letter C on the moon rock? People who think the landing was faked, use this photograph to back up their theory that the whole thing was filmed in a TV studio.  They suggest that every rock on the ‘faked’ moon surface was individually labelled, starting at ‘A’. In this picture you can see a close-up of rock ‘C’, which the people who built the set forgot to turn over. Quick notes on Source B

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‘NASA couldn’t make it to the moon, and they knew it! In the late 1950s a study on astronauts landing on the moon found that the chance of success was 0.0017 per cent. In other words, it was hopeless. As late as 1967 three astronauts died in a horrendous fire on the launch pad without even taking off. It was well known that NASA was badly managed and had poor quality control. Yet by 1969 they suddenly put men on the moon. And got them back again with complete success! It’s just against all common sense and statistical odds.’

 Source C is from an interview with Bill Kaysing, who started the controversy and published in 1994.  Kaysing is famous for writing the book ‘We never went to the Moon’ in 1974. He worked at , a division of from 1956 to 1963, where rocket engines were built. He was the head of technical publications but was not trained as an engineer or scientist.

Quick notes on Source C:-

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Activity

This topic remains a controversial one all over the world to this day. Based on the evidence you have seen so far, what is your opinion? In pairs, discuss whether or not the moon landing mission was faked or not.

Building the ‘Bigger Picture’ through questioning...

To help you decide, what questions would you like to ask regarding the evidence you have already seen?

You could use Who, What, When, Where and How at the start of your sentences.

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Activity

Now study the following sources of information carefully.

SOURCE D: From a science website.

‘Pictures from astronauts transmitted from the moon don’t include stars in the dark lunar sky – an obvious production error! What happened? Did NASA film-makers forget to turn on the lights? Most photographers already know the answer: it’s difficult to capture something very bright and something else very dim on the same piece of film… astronauts striding across the bright lunar soil in their sunlit spacesuits were dazzling. Setting a camera up properly for a glaring space suit could make the background stars too faint to see.’

SOURCE E: Evidence from a website that tries to prove that the moon landings were not faked, www.redzero.demon.co.uk/moonhoax/.

‘The mark on the rock is not a ‘C’. The photograph is a copy of the original photograph. If you look at the original, taken in 1969, the ‘C’ disappears. This is simply because all it is, is a tiny hair that has got into one of the copies along the way.’

SOURCE F: Further evidence that the moon landings were not faked.

‘The astronauts received a great deal of training before they left earth; part of this was in the operation of cameras, which were specially designed to be used by the astronauts with their suits on. The Apollo astronauts took around 17,000 photographs… and there’s plenty of not-so-great ones that NASA have never published… only the best ones were released to the world.’

SOURCE G: From a space website, www.badastronomy.com.

‘The flag isn’t waving. It looks like that because of the way it’s been put up. The flag hangs from a horizontal rod, which pulls out from the vertical one. In Apollo 11 , they couldn’t get the rod to extend completely, so the flag didn’t get stretched fully. It has a ripple in it like a curtain that is not fully closed… it appears to have fooled a lot of people into thinking it waved.’

SOURCE H: An answer to the question: ‘The first man on the moon: real or fake?’ posted on the Internet in 2008.

‘The Russians were watching the USA space programme like hawks and analysing everything the Americans did. If there was the slightest suggestion that a hoax was happening, the Russians would have been falling over themselves to tell the world about it.’

SOURCE I: The three astronauts of the Apollo 11 moon mission: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.

SOURCE J: CNN News bulletin on 10 September 2003

‘Beverly Hills, California, USA – detectives are investigating a complaint that retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin punched a man in the face after being asked to swear on a Bible that he had been to the moon… the man said he does not believe Aldrin or anyone else has ever walked on the moon.’

Activity

It’s time to decide whether YOU think the USA put a man on the moon in 1969.

Remember to plan your answer first.

You can use the following to help you structure your answer.

Sheet A

Introduction:- • Explain how the controversy regarding the moon landing mission began. • Why would the Americans want to fake the moon landing mission? Explain one side of the argument:- • Find two pieces of evidence which suggest that the moon landing mission was faked. • Explain them – why are they suspicious? Explain the other side of the argument:- • Find two pieces of evidence which suggest that the moon landing mission was not faked. • Explain them – can any of the suspicions be accounted for? Conclusion:- • Now write a conclusion which expresses your opinion about the moon landing debate. • Did the Americans land on the moon in 1969 or did they fake the mission? • Remember to back up your theory with evidence.

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Sheet B

Use the sources to help you divide your arguments into two parts – FOR and AGAINST? FAKE or REAL?

Reasons why you think that the Apollo Reasons why you think that the Apollo 11 moon landing mission was a fake:- 11 moon landing mission was real:- 1 1

2 2

3 3

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5 5

Use the above to help you write your account on the lines provided on Sheet A.

Eisteddfod Yr Ysgol

Produce a newspaper front page announcing the Moon Landings. Give details of events, photos, witness reports from Mission Control.