50 years ago, on July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 spaceflight landed the first two men – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – on the Moon. Armstrong became an overnight sensation, burying the US flag into the lunar surface and bringing an end to the Space Race with the Soviet Union. However, for more than half a century, conspiracy theories have plagued the monumental event, claiming the mission was faked to quash the communist unfurl.
Despite this, famed scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson says these claims are absurd and he can explain exactly why, using what he knows best.
During his Amazon Prime documentary “Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Everything,” the American astrophysicist calculated whether the Saturn V rocket had enough fuel to complete its mission.
He admitted in 2015: “Well, I was 11 when we landed on the Moon, So I [was] not in a position, at that time, to judge whether the black and white TV had a fake image on it.
“But as an educated scientifically literate adult, you can do a variety of things.
Neil deGrasse Tyson calculated the possibility of a Moon landing (Image: AMAZON)
The Apollo 11 team that went to the Moon (Image: GETTY)
We can calculate what’s called a rocket equation
“For example, you can look at the Saturn V rocket that took off – we have good video footage of that from multiple angles.
“And you can look at how much fuel is in the rocket in all three stages, allowing you to calculate what’s called a rocket equation of how far will the fuel get the payload of the rocket.”
Dr Tyson ran the numbers, before delivering a harsh reality check to doubters.
He added: “What’s in the payload? The astronauts and their little lunar lander.
“It’s enough fuel to go to the Moon and come back, it’s enough fuel to do that.
JUST IN: Antarctica breakthrough: Scientists discover NEW species ‘like nothing seen before’
Neil deGrasse Tyson has his own views (Image: AMAZON)
Tyson watched the moon landings as a boy (Image: AMAZON)
“So where do you think they were going? The local Piggly Wiggly? To get groceries? No, they were going to the Moon.
“And then people say: ‘Well show me an image of the surface of the Moon’.
“Well telescope images are too fuzzy, so you couldn’t see.”
However, Dr Tyson detailed what should have been the final nail in the coffin for conspiracists.
He continued: “You have to actually go to the Moon, take pictures, and send the pictures back.
DON’T MISS
NASA Mars shock: How rover snapped extremely rare sight on Red Planet [PICTURES]
The man who should have taken first step on Moon – and it’s not Aldrin [COMMENT]
Neil Armstrong knew he was going to miss Moon landing site [REVEALED]
Armstrong became an overnight legend (Image: GETTY)
“So all the people who didn’t want to believe we went to the Moon, they had to wait until we had orbiters around the Moon and pictures of the landing site.
“But the people who genuinely don’t want to believe we went to the moon said: ‘Oh, those are fake’.
“So what it means is they already have the answer they want.
“The answer they want is that we didn’t go to the Moon and nothing we will present to them will matter.”
Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface (Image: GETTY)
He discussed several topics during the series, including what he believed to be the biggest threat to mankind.
It wasn’t an asteroid, climate change, or bioterror, though.
Dr Tyson, who hosts his own “StarTalk” podcast, where he explores similar themes, went on to claim humans will hinder their own chances of survival in the future.
He said: “What preoccupies me is a concern that we might not be wise enough to be good shepherds of our own fate.
“Wisdom is not just knowledge, it’s how do you act on that knowledge?
Moon landing timeline (Image: DX)
“And how do you get knowledge about the future? Well that’s kind of what the whole enterprise of science is about.
“Let us learn how things work, and then when we know how they work we can predict how they will be in the future.
“So for civilisation to advance, it has to know and understand how to tap the information made available by the world’s community of scientists and technologists.
“Without it, I cannot guarantee what fate awaits us.”
