How did the Americans take off from the moon? This is one of the main questions that supporters of the so-called Lunar conspiracy ask, that is, those who believe that American astronauts were not really on the moon, and the Apollo space program was a massive hoax invented to splurge to the whole world. Despite the fact that today most scientists and researchers are inclined to believe that the Americans really landed on the moon, skeptics remain.
Takeoff problems
Many sincerely do not understand how Americans took off from the moon. Additional doubts arise if we recall how the launches of space rockets from the Earth are arranged. To do this, equip a special spaceport, build launch facilities, you need a huge rocket with several stages, as well as whole oxygen plants, gas pipelines, mounting cases and several thousand people of staff. After all, these are operators at the controls , and specialists at the Mission Control Center, and many other people who can not be avoided in order to go into space.
All this on the Moon, of course, was not and could not be. Then how did the Americans take off from the moon in 1969? This question remains one of the key for those who are sure that the American astronauts, who have become famous throughout the world, have not left Earth’s orbit at all.
But all supporters of conspiracy theories will have to be upset and disappointed. This is not only possible and understandable, but most likely it was in fact.
Force of gravity
It was gravity that ensured the success of the entire expedition to the Americans. The fact is that on the Moon it is several times smaller than on Earth, and therefore there should be no question about how the Americans took off from the Moon. This was not so difficult to do.
The main thing is that the Moon itself is several times lighter than the Earth. For example, only its radius is 3.7 times smaller than the earth. So, take off from this satellite is much easier. The force of gravity on the lunar surface is about 6 times weaker than Earth's gravity.
As a result, it turns out that the first cosmic speed that an artificial satellite must possess so that, rotating around a celestial body, does not fall on it, is much less. For the Earth, it is 8 kilometers per second, and for the Moon 1.7 kilometers per second. This is almost 5 times less. This factor became decisive. Thanks to such circumstances, the Americans took off from the surface of the moon.
It should be borne in mind that a speed that is 5 times less does not mean that a rocket should be five times easier to launch. In fact, to fly away from the moon, a rocket can weigh hundreds of times less.
Mass of rockets
If you thoroughly understand how the Americans took off from the moon in 1969, then there should be no doubt about their achievement. Let's talk in detail about the initial mass of missiles, which depends on the required speed. According to the well-known exponential law, mass grows disproportionately fast with an increase in the required speed. This conclusion can be drawn based on the key formula of rocket motion, which was developed by Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, one of the theorists of space flights, at the beginning of the 20th century.
When launched from the surface of the Earth, the rocket must successfully overcome the dense layers of the atmosphere. And since the Americans took off from the moon, then they did not have such a task. At the same time, it is imperative to remember that the thrust force of rocket engines is also spent on overcoming air resistance, but the aerodynamic loads that put pressure on the body force the designers to make the structure as strong as possible, that is, it has to be heavier.
Now let's see how the Americans took off from the surface of the moon. There is no atmosphere on this artificial satellite, which means that engine thrust is not spent on overcoming it, as a result, missiles can be much lighter and less durable.
Another important point: when a rocket launches into space from Earth, the so-called payload is necessarily taken into account. The mass is considered very solid, as a rule, it is several tens of tons. But when starting from the moon, the situation is completely different. This very “payload” is only a few centners, most often no more than three, which just fits into the mass of two astronauts with stones collected by them. After these justifications, it becomes much clearer how the Americans were able to take off from the moon.
Lunar launch
Summing up the conversation about how the Americans flew into space, we can conclude that to enter the lunar orbit a ship with a crew on it can have an initial mass of less than 5 tons. At the same time, about half can be attributed to the necessary fuel.
As a result, the total mass of the rocket that launched from Earth and went to its artificial satellite was about 3,000 tons. But the smaller your vehicle, the easier and easier it will be to drive. Remember that a large ship needs a team of several dozen people, but the boat can be driven alone without resorting to outside help. Missiles are no exception to this rule.
Now about the launch pad, without which, of course, the Americans could hardly have taken off from the moon. His astronauts brought with them. In fact, they served as the lower half of their lunar ship. During the launch, the upper half, in which there was a cabin with astronauts, separated and went into space, and the lower one remained on the moon. Here's what an original solution the designers found so that they could fly away from the moon.
Additional fuel
Many continue to wonder how the Americans flew from the Moon to Earth when they did not have special refueling devices. Where did the amount of fuel come from, which was enough to reach the artificial satellite and return back?
The fact is that additional refueling devices on the Moon were not required, the ship was completely filled up on Earth, with the expectation that there should be enough fuel for the return trip. At the same time, we emphasize that on the moon there was still a kind of mission control center at launch. Only he was at a great distance from the rocket - about three million kilometers, that is, he was on Earth, but his effectiveness from this did not become any less.
Luna 16
When wondering whether the Americans could take off from the moon, we must admit that they did not make any special secret from the technical data of the ships, almost immediately publishing the main numbers and parameters. They were even brought in Soviet textbooks for higher education when studying the features of space flight. Domestic experts who worked with this data did not see anything unrealistic or fantastic in them, so they did not suffer from the problem of how the Americans flew from the moon.
Moreover, it was Soviet scientists and designers who went even further when they created a rocket that could make such a flight without any human involvement, without two astronauts who still managed the ship and controlled it in the case of the Americans. This project was called Luna-16. September 21, 1970 for the first time in the history of mankind, an automatic station started from Earth, landed on the moon, and then arrived back. It took only three days.
An automatic station delivered about 100 grams of lunar soil from the Moon to Earth . Later, two more stations repeated these achievements - they were Luna-20 and Luna-24. Like the American ship, they did not need additional gas stations, special structures on the Moon, special pre-launch service, they completely and independently went this way, successfully returning every time. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in how the Americans flew from the moon, because in the framework of the Soviet space program, this path was repeated more than once.
Apollo 11
In order to finally dispel all doubts about how and on what the Americans flew from the moon, we will figure out which rocket delivered them to the artificial Earth satellite and back. It was a manned spacecraft "Apollo 11".
The crew commander on it was Neil Armstrong, and the pilot Edwin Aldrin. During the flight from July 16 to July 24, 1969, they managed to successfully land their ship in the area of the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. On its surface, American astronauts spent almost a day, to be more precise, then 21 hours 36 minutes and 21 seconds. All this time in a lunar orbit, they were waiting for the pilot of the command module, whose name was Michael Collins.
For all the time spent on the moon, astronauts made only one exit to its surface. Its duration was 2 hours 31 minutes and 40 seconds. Neil Armstrong became the first earthling to set foot on the surface of the moon. This happened on July 21st. A quarter of an hour later, Aldrin joined him.
At the landing site of the Apollo 11 ship, the Americans set the flag of the United States, and also placed a scientific device with which they collected about 21.5 kilograms of soil. He was brought to Earth for further study. On what astronauts flew from the moon, it was known almost immediately. Nobody made secrets and riddles from the Apollo 11 ship. Returning to Earth, the crew of the ship passed strict quarantine, according to the results of which no lunar microorganisms were detected.
This flight of Americans to the moon was one of the key tasks of the American lunar program, which was designated by US President John F. Kennedy back in 1961. He stated then that the moon landing should take place before the end of the decade, and that is what happened. In the lunar race with the USSR, the Americans won a landslide victory, becoming the first, but the Soviet Union was earlier able to send the first man into space.
Now you know exactly what the Americans flew from the moon on and how they were able to do all this.
Other arguments for the Lunar conspiracy
True, the matter is not limited to doubts about the astronauts taking off from the lunar surface. Many admit that it is understandable how the Americans took off from the moon, but, according to them, those who should explain the inconsistencies related to the photo and video materials brought by the Americans are silent.
The fact is that in many photographs that serve as evidence that the Americans were on the moon, they often reveal artifacts, which apparently appeared as a result of retouching and photo montage. All this serves as additional arguments in favor of the fact that the shooting was actually organized in the studio. It is doubtful that the retouching and other photomontage methods that were popular in those days were often used exclusively to improve image quality, as did many images received from satellites.
Supporters of the conspiracy theory argue that ripples that appear on the surface of the canvas are clearly visible on video and photo documents on which American astronauts set the US flag on the moon. Skeptics believe that such a ripple appeared as a result of a sudden gust of wind, and because on the moon the airless space, which means that the pictures were taken on the surface of the Earth.
They are often told in response that the ripples could have appeared not from the wind, but from damped vibrations that would certainly have occurred when the flag was set. The fact is that the flag was mounted on a flagpole located on a telescopic horizontal bar, which was pressed to the pole during transportation. Astronauts, once on the moon, were unable to push the telescopic tube to its maximum length. It was because of this that ripples appeared, which created the illusion that the flag was waving in the wind. It is worth noting also the fact that in a vacuum, the oscillations subside longer, since there is no air resistance. Therefore, this version is fully justified and realistic.
Jumping height
Also, many skeptics pay attention to the small jumping height of astronauts. It is believed that if the shooting were actually done on the surface of the moon, then each jump should have been several meters high due to the fact that the gravitational force on an artificial satellite is several times lower than on Earth itself.
Scientists have an answer to these doubts. Indeed, due to a different gravitational force, the mass of each astronaut has also changed. On the moon, it increased significantly, because in addition to their actual weight, they had a heavy spacesuit and the necessary life support systems. A special problem was created by boosting the spacesuit - it is very difficult to make the fast movements that are necessary for such a high jump, because significant forces will be expended on overcoming the internal pressure. In addition, by making too high jumps, astronauts risk losing control of their balance, with a high degree of probability this can lead to their fall. And such a fall from a considerable height is fraught with irreversible damage to the backpack of the life support system or the helmet itself.
To imagine how dangerous such a jump can be, you need to keep in mind that any body is capable of performing both translational and rotational movements. At the moment of the jump, the forces can be distributed unevenly, so the astronaut’s body can get a torque, start spinning uncontrollably, so in this case it will be almost impossible to predict the place and landing speed. For example, a person in this case may fall upside down, get serious injuries and even die. Astronauts, well aware of these risks, tried in every possible way to avoid such jumps, rising above the surface to a minimum height.
Deadly radiation
Another common argument by conspiracy theorists is based on a study by Van Allen in 1958 studying radiation belts. The researcher noted that the lethal streams of solar radiation for humans are restrained by the Earth’s magnetic atmosphere, while in the belts themselves, as Van Allen claimed, the level of radiation is as high as possible.
Flying through such radiation belts is not dangerous only if the ship has reliable protection. The crew of the Apollo ship during the flight through the radiation belts was in a special command module, the walls of which were strong and thick, which provided the necessary protection. In addition, the ship flew very fast, which also played a role, and the trajectory of its movement lay outside the region of the most intense radiation. As a result, astronauts had to receive a radiation dose that would be several times less than the maximum permissible.
Another argument cited by conspiracy theorists is that photographic films must have been illuminated due to radiation. It is interesting that the same fears existed before the flight of the Soviet spacecraft Luna-3, but even then they managed to transmit photos of normal quality, the film was not affected.
Many other spacecraft, which were part of the "Probe" series, were repeatedly shot on the camera by the moon. And inside some of them there were even animals, for example turtles, which also did not suffer. The radiation dose according to the results of each flight corresponded to preliminary calculations, was significantly lower than the maximum permissible. A detailed scientific analysis of all the data obtained proved that on the route "Earth - Moon - Earth", if solar activity is low, there are no fears for human life and health.
An interesting story is the documentary "The Dark Side of the Moon", which appeared in 2002. In particular, it demonstrated an interview with the widow of the famous American director Stanley Kubrick Christiana, in which she said that US President Nixon was very impressed with her husband's 2001 Space Odyssey, which was released in 1968. According to her, it was Nixon who initiated the cooperation of Kubrick himself and other Hollywood specialists, the result of which was to be the correction of the American image in the lunar program.
After the demonstration of this documentary, some Russian news agencies stated that it was just a genuine study, which is evidence of the Lunar conspiracy, and Christiana Kubrick’s interview was seen as clear and indisputable confirmation that the landing of the Americans on the Moon was filmed in Hollywood under the leadership of Kubrick.
In fact, this film was pseudo-documentary, as the creators themselves admit in its credits. All interviews were composed of phrases deliberately taken out of context, or played by professional actors. It was a well-designed rally, which many were led to.