How did the Americans take off from the moon? This is one of the main questions asked by supporters of the so-called Lunar conspiracy, that is, those who believe that American astronauts did not really go to the moon, and the Apollo space program was a massive hoax invented in order to splurge. around the world. Despite the fact that today most scientists and researchers are inclined to believe that the Americans really landed on the moon, skeptics remain.
Trouble taking off
Many sincerely do not understand how the Americans took off from the moon. Additional doubts arise if we recall how the launches of space rockets from the Earth are arranged. For this, a special cosmodrome is being equipped, launch facilities are being built, a huge rocket with several stages is needed, as well as entire oxygen plants, filling pipelines, installation buildings and several thousand service personnel. After all, these are operators at the consoles, and specialists in the Mission Control Center and many other people, without whomnot indispensable 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 ones for those who are sure that the American astronauts, who became famous all over the world, did not leave the Earth's orbit at all.
But all conspiracy theorists will have to be upset and disappointed. This is not only possible and quite understandable, but most likely it actually happened.
Power of attraction
It was the force of 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 questions about how the Americans took off from the Moon. It wasn't that hard 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's. This means that it is much easier to take off from this satellite. The force of gravity on the surface of the Moon 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 have in order not to fall on it, rotating around a celestial body, 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 the speed, which is 5 times less, does not mean that ina rocket to launch should be five times lighter. In reality, a rocket could weigh hundreds of times less to leave the moon.
Missile mass
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 rockets, which depends on the required speed. According to the well-known exponential law, the mass grows disproportionately fast with the growth of the required speed. This conclusion can be drawn based on the key formula of rocket propulsion, which was deduced at the beginning of the 20th century by one of the theorists of space flights, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky.
When starting 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, they did not face such a task. At the same time, it must be remembered that the thrust force of the 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 made heavier.
Now let's figure out how the Americans took off from the surface of the moon. There is no atmosphere on this artificial satellite, which means that the thrust of the engines is not spent on overcoming it, as a result, rockets can be much lighter and less durable.
Another important point: when a rocket launches into space from Earth, the so-called payload must be taken into account. The mass is taken into account very solid, asas 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 in the mass of two astronauts with the stones they have collected. 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 took off into space, we can conclude that to enter 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, which was launched from the Earth and went to its artificial satellite, was about 3,000 tons. But the smaller your vehicle, the lighter and easier it will be to drive. Remember that a large ship needs a team of several dozen people, but a boat can be driven alone, without resorting to outside help. Missiles are no exception to this rule.
Now about the launch facility, without which, of course, the Americans would hardly have been able to take off from the moon. His astronauts brought with them. In fact, they were served by the lower half of their lunar ship. During the launch, the upper half, which contained the cabin with the astronauts, separated and went into space, while the lower half remained on the moon. Here is the original solution that the designers found so that they could fly away from the moon.
Extra fuel
Many continue to wonder how the Americans flew from the Moon to Earth when they did not have special refueling devices. Where did such an amount of fuel come from, which was enough to reach an artificial satellite and return back?
The fact is that no additional refueling devices were required on the Moon, the ship was completely refueled on Earth, on the basis that there should be enough fuel for the return trip. At the same time, we emphasize that the Moon still had a kind of flight 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 did not become less from this.
Luna-16
Asking the question of whether the Americans could take off from the Moon, it must be admitted that they did not make any special secret from the technical data of the ships, publishing the main figures and parameters almost immediately. They were even cited in Soviet textbooks for higher educational institutions when studying the features of space flight. Domestic experts who worked with these data did not see anything unreal or fantastic in them, so they did not suffer from the problem of how the Americans flew away 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 participation at all, without two astronauts who nevertheless controlled the ship and controlled it incase with the Americans. This project was called "Luna-16". On September 21, 1970, for the first time in the history of mankind, an automatic station launched from the Earth, landed on the Moon, and then arrived back. It only took three days.
From the Moon to Earth, an automatic station delivered about 100 grams of lunar soil. Later, this achievement was repeated by two more stations - these were Luna-20 and Luna-24. They, like the American ship, did not need additional filling stations, special facilities on the Moon, special pre-launch services, they completely independently and autonomously made this way, successfully returning back each time. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in how the Americans flew away from the Moon, because the Soviet space program managed to repeat this path more than once.
Apollo 11
In order to finally dispel all doubts about how and on what the Americans flew away from the moon, let's figure out which rocket delivered them to the artificial satellite of the Earth and back. It was the Apollo 11 manned spacecraft.
The crew commander on it was Neil Armstrong, and the pilot was Edwin Aldrin. During the flight from July 16 to 24, 1969, they managed to successfully land their spacecraft in the area of the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. American astronauts spent almost a day on its surface, to be more precise, 21 hours 36 minutes and 21 seconds. All this time, a command module pilot named Michael Collins was waiting for them in lunar orbit.
For all the time spent on the moon,Astronauts have made only one exit to its surface. Its duration was 2 hours 31 minutes and 40 seconds. Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. It happened on July 21st. Exactly a quarter of an hour later, Aldrin joined him.
At the landing site of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the Americans planted the flag of the United States, and also placed a scientific instrument, with which they collected about 21.5 kilograms of soil. It was brought back to Earth for further study. On what the astronauts flew from the moon, it was known almost immediately. No one made secrets and riddles from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Back on Earth, the spacecraft's crew went through a strict quarantine, which resulted in no lunar microorganisms being detected.
This flight of the Americans to the moon was the fulfillment of one of the key tasks of the American lunar program, which was outlined by US President John F. Kennedy back in 1961. He said then that the moon landing should take place before the end of the decade, and it happened. In the lunar race with the USSR, the Americans won a landslide victory, becoming the first, but the Soviet Union managed to send the first man into space earlier.
Now you know exactly how the Americans flew off the moon and how they were able to do all this.
Other arguments of Lunar conspiracy supporters
True, the matter is not limited to some doubts about the takeoff of astronauts from the surface of the Moon. Many admit that it is clear how the Americans took off from the moon, but they are silent, according to themaccording to those who have to explain the inconsistencies associated with the photo and video materials brought by the Americans.
The fact is that in many of the photographs that serve as evidence that the Americans were on the moon, artifacts are often found, which apparently appeared as a result of retouching and photomontage. All this serves as additional arguments in favor of the fact that in reality the shooting was organized in the studio. It is doubtful that retouching and other methods of photo editing, popular at that time, were often used solely to improve image quality, as was done with many images received from satellites.
Conspiracy theorists claim that the video footage and photographic evidence of US astronauts planting the US flag on the moon show ripples that appear on the surface of the canvas. Skeptics believe that such ripples appeared as a result of a sudden gust of wind, and after all, there is no air on the Moon, 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, which would certainly have arisen 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 against the pole during transportation. The astronauts, once on the moon, failed to push the telescopic tube to its maximum length. It was because of this that the ripples appeared, which created the illusion thatthat the flag is fluttering in the wind. It is also worth noting the fact that in a vacuum, oscillations subside longer, since there is no air resistance. Therefore, this version is quite reasonable and realistic.
Jump Height
Also, many skeptics pay attention to the low jump height of the astronauts. It is believed that if the shooting was really done on the surface of the Moon, then each jump would have to be several meters high due to the fact that the gravitational force on an artificial satellite is several times lower than on the Earth itself.
Scientists have an answer to these doubts. Indeed, due to a different gravitational force, the mass of each astronaut also changed. On the Moon, it increased significantly, because in addition to their own weight, they were wearing a heavy spacesuit and the necessary life support systems. A particular problem was the pressurization of the suit - it is very difficult to make the quick movements that are necessary for such a high jump, because in this case significant forces will be spent on overcoming internal pressure. In addition, by jumping too high, 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 life support system pack 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 both translational and rotational movements. At the time of the jump, efforts can be distributed unevenly, so the bodyan astronaut can get a torque, start spinning uncontrollably, so the place and speed of landing in this case will be almost impossible to predict. For example, a person in this case can fall upside down, get seriously injured 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 conspiracy theory argument is based on a 1958 study by Van Allen on the radiation belts. The researcher noted that solar radiation flows that are fatal to humans are restrained by the Earth's magnetic atmosphere, while in the belts themselves, as Van Allen argued, the radiation level 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 spacecraft 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 was flying 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, the astronauts had to receive a radiation dose that would be many times less than the maximum allowable.
Another argument cited by conspiracy theorists is that the film must have been exposed to radiation due to radiation. Interestingly, the same concernsexisted even before the flight of the Soviet Luna-3 spacecraft, but even then it was possible to transmit photographs of normal quality, the film was not damaged.
Shooting the moon with a camera was repeatedly carried out by many other spacecraft that were part of the Zond series. And inside some of them there were even animals, such as turtles, which were also not affected. The radiation dose based on the results of each of the flights corresponded to preliminary calculations and was significantly below the maximum allowable. 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 he alth.
An interesting story of the documentary film "The Dark Side of the Moon", which appeared in 2002. In particular, it showed 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 film "A Space Odyssey 2001", 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 correct the American image in the lunar program.
After the screening of this documentary, some Russian news outlets claimed that it was just a genuine study, which is evidence of the Lunar conspiracy, and the interview of Christiane Kubrick was seen as clear and indisputableconfirmation that the American moon landing was filmed in Hollywood directed by Kubrick.
In fact, this film was pseudo-documentary, as the creators themselves admit in its credits. All interviews were composed by them from phrases deliberately taken out of context, or played out by professional actors. It was a well thought out prank that many fell for.
