How Many People Have REALLY Walked On The Moon? | Unveiled

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How Many People Have REALLY Walked on the Moon?</h4>

The Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969 is entrenched in history as one of the most iconic moments of the twentieth century. The NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin gained worldwide fame as the first human beings ever to set foot on the lunar surface. But, despite all the fanfare, our journey to the moon has never exactly been straightforward. And ever since America planted its flag, there have been claims that all is not as it seems.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; how many people have really walked on the moon?

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, NASA’s Apollo Program launched seven missions to the moon. Six were successful while one, Apollo 13, failed but thankfully ended in a dramatic recovery effort. Apollo 11 took Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to their target, while Michael Collins watched on from lunar orbit. It was a two-and-one general setup that was then repeated for every mission until the last one, Apollo 17 in 1972 - which landed the astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. As he was the last to re-enter the module bound for home, Cernan remains the last human being to walk on lunar soil. 

In total, Apollos 11 through 17 (minus 13) enabled twelve astronauts to walk on the moon. But, due to a variety of reasons - most notably funding cuts, a low economic return, and waning public interest - the Apollo Program was canceled far earlier than had initially been planned. The call to kill Apollo was made in December 1972, as the space race went quiet and the world’s leading scientists and engineers seemingly turned to other things. But, in the years and decades since, the speculation has never truly died down. And there have emerged two particularly polarizing alternative views. One, that we never went to the moon in the first place… and two, that we’ve actually been far more times than most people know.

First off, those infamous claims that the entire thing is (and was) fake. At the time, and certainly in the years since, various doubts have been cast over whether NASA ever actually made it to the moon at all. If it was hoaxed, then conspiracy theorists argue that it was done in order to make America win the space race. Up until the moon landings, the US had definitely been falling behind its rival, the USSR. The Soviets had already claimed most of the other “firsts”, including the first satellite and first person in space, generally. President Kennedy had famously promised to put an astronaut on the moon before the decade was out, and NASA managed to do it with just a couple months to spare. For some, the timings are too convenient; the eventual closure of Apollo is too suspect; and those grainy images of Armstrong et al actually on the moon leave a lot to be desired. There are cries that the flags move when they shouldn't, that there are shadows on the ground that shouldn’t be there, and that the soil underfoot is either too disturbed or not disturbed enough. Another alternate line of thinking says that the Apollo Program only ever existed to distract public attention away from America’s involvement in the Vietnam War; and that it was seemingly shelved when it was, because the US withdrawal meant that Apollo was no longer needed. For those who believe it was a hoax, Apollo 11 might even have been filmed in the back of a trailer by no less than the Hollywood director, Stanley Kubrick - paid for by money from Disney. And Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 were staged in much the same way, until it all became too difficult for NASA to continue the lie.

The kickback against the conspiracy has been just as fierce and determined, however. Film experts have analyzed the footage, focussing on alleged inconsistencies or errors - including one claim that certain moon rocks are actually labeled studio props. Any alleged labels have been explained away as coincidental debris on the film. Astronomers have been consulted about the apparent lack of stars in NASA’s archive of moon footage, as well, with the leading explanation being that the landings happened during the lunar daytime - when light from the sun outshone them. In more recent times, further evidence that the moon landings did happen has come by way of modern missions imaging the landing sites that are still visible on the surface. NASA has released variously detailed photos-from-above of all the Apollo locations, while India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe has snapped the site of Apollo 15 specifically… and China’s Chang'e 2 has also reportedly found unspecified traces of past Apollo activity.

Of course, now that we do have so many eyes and cameras on the moon, the conspiracies have tended in a different direction, as a result. As well as theorists insisting that we’ve never been to the moon, there are those that are adamant that there are some things up there that shouldn’t be. For instance, that there are hidden bases on the far side, or that there are alien artifacts lurking in the dust. The Apollo 18 conspiracy is perhaps one of the strangest of all, though. Claimants say that the Apollo Program actually didn’t end when NASA (and everyone else) says it did… and instead was continued, but in secret. Officially speaking, Apollo 18 never even made it to the launch pad let alone the moon… but what if it was sent up? What might have happened next?

In this case, the theory really does involve a made-for-theaters movie, also called “Apollo 18”, and released in 2011. The film was written by Brian Miller, directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego, and created in a found footage, documentary style. As part of a marketing strategy, it’s made to seem as though the movie is something of an expose of what really happened at NASA when the Apollo Program was officially ending. The film has it that a secret, final mission was sent up, during which NASA astronauts found a dead Soviet cosmonaut… and signs of alien life. If true, it would mean two massive revelations: Russia got to the moon, as well… and, well, aliens exist. But unfortunately it isn’t true and it is just a movie. Although NASA - the real NASA did feel compelled enough to issue a statement, shortly after the film’s release. The Agency reportedly gave permission for various assets - including logos - to be used in the movie, but had been under the impression that “Apollo 18” would be a clearly fictional piece. When it turned out not to be, with some viewers apparently interpreting it as a record of events that really happened, NASA sought to clarify - releasing an article titled; “Apollo 18 Myths Debunked, NASA-style”. In it, Kay Grinter, of the Kennedy Space Center confirms that the reason for axing Apollo was “monetary, not biological”. The much more mundane issue of funding is again blamed for why we’ve never been back.

But, what’s your verdict? Officially speaking, there have still been only twelve people that have ever set foot on the lunar surface. NASA’s current Artemis Program aims to raise that number, and soon… all while the likes of Blue Origin and SpaceX compete in a new space race in the private sector. China’s CNSA looks set to launch to the moon, as well, while the likes of Russia’s Roscosmos and India’s ISRO have made tentative moves toward the same. So, could all of the current plans actually be aiming for something that we’ve never really done before? Did NASA fake the first moon landings all those years ago? 

The overwhelming consensus is no they didn’t. The Apollo Program unfolded exactly as history remembers it, and it delivered some of humankind’s greatest achievements. The rumors refuse to disappear, though. And, while polls differ, it’s thought that between ten and twenty percent of people believe that the moon landings never happened. The Apollo 18 theories are much newer and far less followed, but could perhaps gain traction if anyone ever finds anything that’s unaccountable if (and when) we do return to the moon.

Should the grand plans of today ever come to fruition, then the coming years could be truly significant in humanity’s quest to venture into space. After what might even be described as a false start in the 1960s and ‘70s, we’re picking up the baton again… and running. But also, in the here and now, even the most deep-rooted conspiracies might finally meet their fate. For now, it’s a round dozen… although it depends a lot on who you ask. And that’s how many people have really walked on the moon.