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25 Space Conspriacies 51

25 Space Conspiracies

That Conspiracy Theorists

Do Their Best To Keep

Alive... For Now

By Elizabeth Howell

Space Conspiracies
On the internet, you need to be a
skeptical reader these days. Claims of aliens and
UFOs, Mars being abnormally big, or the moon
turning green are the kinds of things you should
check out carefully. Here are some of the biggest
space myths that just won't go away.

The Apollo moon landings were faked.
Twelve NASA astronauts walked on the
moon between 1969 and 1972, and the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter has since released new
photos of the landing sites. In the decades since Not convinced? Try watching a rocket Mike Brown (who is one of the original backers
Apollo 11 astronauts first set foot on the moon, launch for yourself, or see the space station and of the Planet Nine theory) says the planet will
many theories have been put forward claiming other satellites with your own eyes with the help pose no threat to us.
that the whole Apollo program was staged. Why
of a satellite tracker.
are there no stars in the sky in the moonwalkers'
Alien research is happening at Area 51.
photos? Why are the U.S. flags fluttering on the
The Earth is flat. The 1996 movie "Independence Day" is
surface? Why do you see footprints in the
This myth is so popular that there is even one of the sources of the Area 51 hoax, which
pictures, but no marks from the lunar modules
a group named after it: the Flat Earth Society. claims that aliens and their technology —
that landed there?
Members of the organization argue that the recovered from crashed flying saucers — are
The answers to those questions are
horizon is always at eye level, which they say being studied secretly at a classified military
simpler than you may think. There are no stars in
would not be possible if the Earth were round. base about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest
the sky for the same reason you don't see stars
They also say there is no full movie of the Earth of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. Some people
during the day on Earth: The bright glow of
rotating from space — which is not true, as in the area around the base claim that they have
daylight on the surface washes them out. U.S.
NASA has published multiple videos taken from seen strange flights out of this area.
flags planted into the lunar soil had metal rods
satellites, including a live video of Earth from While Area 51's true focus is classified,
sewn in them to appear as though they were
the ISS, which orbits our planet 16 times per the U.S. government has acknowledged its
moving. Without these wires, the flag would day. existence (although the CIA officially calls it
have hung straight down, making for a pretty
One way of demonstrating to yourself "Homey Airport" or "Groom Lake"). A part of
lackluster photo prop. And the lunar modules,
that the Earth is round is to consider how orbits Edwards Air Force Base, the area was a known
though heavier, didn't put prominent marks in
of satellites work. Satellites constantly "fall" location for high-technology airplane flights in
the surface in some places because their mass
around the Earth as they are pulled around by the 1960s and 1970s. It first served as a proving
was more evenly distributed than the astronauts'
our planet's gravity; they just need to be ground for Lockheed U-2 and A-12 OXCART
weight was in their boots.
traveling fast enough at a high enough altitude to spy planes as early as 1955. UFO sightings
not slam into the atmosphere. Or, you can look reported in the area were indeed unidentified
NASA is a lie.
at the amazing pictures taken by astronauts at objects, but only because the planes were top-
Some folks actually believe NASA's the ISS. secret — not because they were flown by aliens.
whole function is not to explore space, but to Still not sold? Watch Neil deGrasse
generate space-related hoaxes. (The Apollo
Tyson lay out the facts in a rap battle with B.o.B. There is a killer planet known as
moon landing is a famous example that we'll
"The Earth looks flat because you aren't far "Nibiru."
explore in the next slide.) People who believe
enough away at your size," Tyson explains. Conspiracy theorists say another
this conspiracy, sometimes flagged with the
"Your size isn't large enough relative to Earth to dangerous planet is Nibiru, which was first
hashtag "#NASAhoax" on social media, will say notice any curvature at all."
that amazing space pictures of Mars, Pluto and mentioned in the 1976 book "The Twelfth
Planet," by Zecharia Sitchin. In the book,
even Earth are fake, computer-generated
Planet Nine will kill us.
imagery (CGI). Sitchin translated ancient Sumerian cuneiform
In April 2016, the New York Post and claimed that the text is proof of a planet
In reality, NASA was formed in 1958 "to
tweeted, "A newly discovered planet could beyond Neptune called Nibiru that orbits the sun
provide for research into problems of flight
destroy Earth as soon as this month." The every 3,600 years.
within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and
newspaper was referring to Planet Nine, a Years later, self-proclaimed psychic
for other purposes," according to the National
theoretical planet at the edge of the solar system. Nancy Lieder claimed to have communicated
Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which then-
An accompanying video also claimed that the with extraterrestrials who said Nibiru would
president Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law new planet would be throwing all sorts of
shortly after the start of the space race against collide with Earth in 2003. When that didn't
asteroids and comets at Earth, which would happen, the date was moved to 2012 (and linked,
the Soviet Union. Since then, NASA has
supposedly end up pummeling our planet. of course, with the 2012 doomsday predictions).
launched hundreds of satellites into orbit around
Although the planet's existence has not Of course, the collision never occurred, the
Earth, the moon and several other worlds. In
been confirmed, astronomers are actively world didn't end in 2012 and no astronomer has
fact, NASA spacecraft have orbited, flown by or
looking for it to explain motions of some objects ever found a planet on a collision course with
landed on every planet in the solar system.
in the icy Kuiper Belt, a vast region of icy Earth.
NASA also sends astronauts into orbit, where
objects beyond Neptune. If the planet is actually
they conduct research at the International Space
found, the California Institute of Technology's (Continued on Page 52)
Station (ISS).