Back to the Moon

In  January1986, Judy Resnik was one of seven astronauts who died when they Challenger exploded en route to the space shuttle.  A childhood friend of mine, Judy was one of several brilliant and courageous scientists who died so that the rest of us can enjoy the benefits of space exploration.  The second American female astronaut, she held a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, and the IEEE Judith Resnik Award for space engineering is named in her honor.

Recently, some incredibly malicious people have continued to perpetuate claims that man didn’t go to the moon.  I refuse to let Judy’s death be for naught and allow such canards to continue to circulate unchallenged.  She didn't die on a movie set.

Judy Resnik

The person who posted the myth claim wants proof of a moon landing.  OK.  I’ll provide it.  By the way, the same information is available on multiple sites and supplied by accredited scientists.

Just for starters, 400,000 people were involved with the moon landings.  Funny how not one of them claims the landings were faked.  No conspiracy can survive that many people knowing of it.

Think that all of NASA is involved in hiding the "truth?"  Then what about the hundreds of independent astronomers worldwide who tracked the path of the rocket to the moon and back?  They have testified to their findings for years in blogs, books and papers.  They are all part of the massive conspiracy,

NASA staffers in 1969

too?  And the Russians?   They also tracked the mission and weren’t happy about it since they were racing us to the moon.  No Russian scientist has ever claimed the explorations never happened.

How about the moon rocks? Astronauts gathered 382 kilograms of moon rocks, which have been extensively studied.  Lunar rocks gauged out by meteorites and propelled to Earth weren’t found until the 1980s, and their origins were verified by the rocks the astronauts brought home. Moon rocks are easy to identify: they have a very specific geological composition which is distinct from both rocks on Earth and other celestial bodies.

Moon rock

Recently, NASA published high resolution images of the moon as shown from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The photos show the landers, rovers and flags that were left by the various missions.  Those same images were recorded by the Chinese and Japanese space agencies, which sent their own spacecraft to orbit the moon.

Duke

Astronauts who walked on the moon placed retro-reflectors to reflect light directly back to Earth. That equipment, set up to help measure the distance from the Earth to the moon, has been authenticated by private institutions.  Anyone can do the same thing by pointing a high-powered laser at the reflectors and watch the light bounce back.

Then, too, if someone is still incredible thick-headed and insists on claiming the moon landings were faked, answer the question posed by Charlie Duke, an astronaut on the Apollo 16 mission: “We have been to the Moon nine times. Why would we fake it nine times, if we faked it?"

Even movie sequels don’t duplicate the scenario in exactly the same way.

Finally, the technology supposedly used to “fake” the landing didn’t exist then.  They had to do the real thing.

According to one study I read, 6 percent of Americans still believe we didn’t land on the moon.  Too bad Judy isn’t around to call them idiots to their faces.  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin did punch out one denier, so that will just have to do.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1