—- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2424927.stm Friday, 8 November, 2002, 16:08 GMT Nasa pulls Moon hoax book Apollo crew, Nasa Not heroes but actors, claim the theorists By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor
The US space agency (Nasa) has cancelled the book intended to challenge the conspiracy theorists who claim the Moon landings were a hoax.
Nasa declined to comment specifically on the reasons for dropping the publication, but it is understood the decision resulted from the bad publicity that followed the announcement of the project.
Criticism that Nasa was displaying poor judgement and a lack of confidence in commissioning the book caused it to abort the project, agency spokesman Bob Jacobs said.
Astronaut on moonwalk, Nasa Oberg will still write the book Nasa had hired aerospace writer Jim Oberg for the job on a fee of $15,000.
He says he will still do the work, although it will now be an unofficial publication with alternative funding.
The book will deliver a point-by-point rebuttal of the theory that the Apollo landings were faked in a movie studio, to convince the world that the US had beaten the Soviets to the Moon.
It will explain why in still and video footage of the landings, no stars can be seen in the Moon sky, why a flag appears to ripple on the atmosphere-free satellite and why shadows fall in strange directions – all “facts”, conspiracy theorists say, point to a hoax.
Some commentators had said that in making the Oberg book an official Nasa publication, the agency was actually giving a certain credibility to the hoax theory.
On Thursday, November 7, 2002, at 02:02 PM, Ian Andrew Bell wrote:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2410431.stm
>
> Thursday, 7 November, 2002, 19:16 GMT
> Nasa challenges Moon hoax claims
> Training for the Moonlandings, Nasa
> Lights, camera, action: Training for the Moon landings
> By Dr David Whitehouse
> BBC News Online science editor
>
> For years there have been rumours that the Apollo lunar landings were
> faked, staged on a movie set to convince the world that the US had
> beaten the Soviets to the Moon.
>
> And, despite evidence to the contrary, the belief that the “one small
> step for man” was a sham continues to spread.
>
> Now, having tried to stay above the rumours, the US space agency
> (Nasa) has finally got fed up with the conspiracy theorists and asked
> James Oberg, a leading aerospace writer, to produce a book that it
> hopes will settle the issue.
>
> Buzz Aldrin – former US astronaut and second man on Moon
> Buzz Aldrin: Angry at claims that landing was faked
>
> But will it work, or will it just add a certain credibility to the
> hoax theory?
>
> Flags that ripple on the airless Moon, discrepancies in the part
> numbers of lunar lander components, shadows that point in the wrong
> direction, the lack of stars seen in the sky – these are all “facts”
> that have fuelled the conspiracy theory.
>
> It is claimed that the six Apollo landings took place in a hangar on a
> secret military base.
>
> Over the years, every one of the lines of evidence has been
> discredited but the rumours refuse to go away.
>
> In September, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, punched
> a man in the face after he had confronted the former astronaut at a
> Beverly Hills hotel.
>
> Bart Sibrel – who has made a film questioning the Apollo Moon missions
> – had demanded that Mr Aldrin, 72, swear on the Bible that he had in
> fact walked on the Moon.
>
> Prosecutors declined to file assault charges against Mr Aldrin.
>
> Truth out there
>
> Tackling the conspiracy theory head-on in an official book was the
> idea of Nasa’s former chief historian Roger Launius.
>
> Flag, Nasa
> Lunar flag: Not fluttering
>
> He says that hardcore conspiracy theorists are not the book’s main
> audience, as they will never be convinced of the truth.
>
> Instead, it will be aimed at the general public and especially
> teachers, giving them the science to answer questions in class.
>
> Doubters will no doubt dismiss the new book as just another attempt by
> the establishment to cover up the truth.
>
> Nasa says the rippling flag is easily explained by the fact that the
> astronauts twisted it as they planted it in the soil.
>
> The stars are not visible in the lunar sky because of the bright
> landscape and the light from the Earth drowning them out.
>
> In a few years a definite answer could be possible.
>
> A private company, Transorbital, will place a private high-resolution
> satellite into orbit around the Moon. It should have the power to see
> the Apollo hardware left on the surface.
>
>
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