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Event / publication / experimentBranchesJuly 20, 1969

Apollo 11 and the Moon landing

Neil ArmstrongBuzz AldrinMichael Collins

This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method

For everyone

On 20 July 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. In six Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon and brought back 382 kg of lunar rock. Some people claim that the landings were staged; retroreflectors left on the surface, the returned samples and photographs taken from orbit are cited as evidence of the landings.

For specialists

Apollo 11, 14 and 15 left corner-cube retroreflectors on the surface; lunar laser ranging uses them to measure the Earth–Moon distance at the millimetre level. The returned samples' isotope ratios, micrometeorite craters and completely water-free mineralogy differ from Earth rocks. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged hardware and footpaths at the landing sites.

Claims

Evidence

Supporting

Measurement

Laser pulses sent to the retroreflectors left by Apollo missions have returned regularly for more than 50 years.[3]

Observation

The returned lunar samples show chemical and physical properties unlike Earth rocks and have been studied in laboratories worldwide.[4]

Challenging

Philosophical / theological argument

Proponents cited the absence of stars in photographs, the apparently waving flag and the radiation of the Van Allen belts as evidence.[2]

Connections

Parent

Space exploration

Influenced by

Sputnik 1 and Gagarin

Related

Artemis II, humans around the Moon after 50 years

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Sources

  1. WebApollo 11. NASAnasa.govarchive
  2. BookKaysing, B.; Reid, R. (1976). We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle. First edition, 1976 (self-published)
  3. ArticleMurphy, T. W. (2013). Lunar laser ranging: the millimeter challenge. Reports on Progress in Physics 76, 076901DOI 10.1088/0034-4885/76/7/076901archive
  4. BookHeiken, G. H.; Vaniman, D. T.; French, B. M. (eds.) (1991). Lunar Sourcebook: A User's Guide to the Moon. Cambridge University Press

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Cite this page

APA

Athena contributors. (2026). Apollo 11 and the Moon landing. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/apollo-11/

BibTeX
@misc{athena_apollo_11,
  title        = {Apollo 11 and the Moon landing},
  author       = {{Athena contributors}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/apollo-11/}},
  note         = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}

Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history

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