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Featured Image Credit: Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images
Topics: Space, NASA, Conspiracy Theory
James Moorhouse
Topics: Space, NASA, Conspiracy Theory
We've all got one mate who believes everything they read on the internet and probably has a fair few conspiracy theories up their sleeve.
Hopefully you're not too close with anyone who still thinks the Earth is flat but maybe you know a few who think Avril Lavigne was replaced by a body double or believe that pigeons aren't real.
Despite the significant evidence suggesting otherwise, one of the biggest conspiracies in history surrounds the 1969 Moon landing, and whether it actually happened.
Now, nearly everyone who has their sensible cap on will admit that space travel is very obviously real but there is one photo of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon which might cast some doubt on the matter, as keen-eyed 'free-thinkers' have spotted three big 'mistakes' with the photo.
Even at the grand old age of 95, it's probably best to not mention any of these viral conspiracies to Aldrin directly, given he once punched someone who accused him of being a 'liar'.
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The photo in question shows Aldrin famously planting the US flag on the Moon's surface and then saluting it, in true American fashion.
The flag is just one of the things supposedly 'wrong' with the photo as it looks to be waving in the wind, despite there being no wind in space due to the lack of atmosphere.
However, there's a fairly simple explanation for this one.
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Much like an influencer spending many minutes perfecting the perfect selfie, the astronauts no doubt spent plenty of time making sure they had a good shot of the flag.
After all, it wasn't like they could just quickly head back up to the Moon if they didn't like it. The lack of atmosphere meant that any ruffling effect from setting up the flag would have stayed in place, hence the apparent windswept look.
Because it's dark, and the world wasn't struggling with as much terrible light pollution in 1969, people might have expected to see some stars in the background of the iconic picture.
However, Apollo 11 naturally landed on the light side of the Moon, with the Moon's surface brightly reflecting the sunlight.
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The astronauts obviously didn't have the latest iPhone available to them back in 1969, so probably couldn't adjust the brightness settings on their camera as easily, meaning that bright objects in the background, such as stars, simply wouldn't show up.
How could one footprint be so different to another? Well, this one is unsurprisingly super easy to figure out.
The footprint belonged to Armstrong (you know the guy with the whole one small step for man thing) and the man in the photo is Aldrin, meaning different footprints for different boots.
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Also, the footprint was of a lunar overshoe - something both astronauts wore over their spacesuit boots to provide them with added traction in the dust. They left these overshoes on the Moon because of weight issues when returning to Earth.
So there you have it, the viral conspiracies are wrong again. Who would have thought? Maybe it's a sign that we should start researching and reading up on topics, before spreading misinformation all over the internet.