Controversies

The Moon landing conspiracy theories claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA and members of other organizations. Various groups and individuals have made such conspiracy claims since the mid-1970s. The most notable claim is that the six manned landings (1969–1972) were faked and that the twelve Apollo astronauts did not walk on the Moon. Conspiracy theorists (henceforth conspiracists) base their claims on the notion NASA and others knowingly misled the public into believing the landings happened by manufacturing, destroying, or tampering with evidence; including photos, telemetry tapes, transmissions, rock samples, and even some key witnesses.
Conspiracists have managed to sustain public interest in their theories for more than 40 years despite there being much third-party evidence for the landings and detailed rebuttals to the hoax claims. Polls taken in various locations have shown that between 6% and 20% of Americans surveyed believe that the manned landings were faked, rising to 28% in Russia. Even as late as 2001, the major television network Fox broadcast a documentary named Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? claiming NASA faked the first landing in 1969 to win the Space Race.
Since the late 2000s, high-definition photos taken by the LROC spacecraft of the Apollo landing sites have captured the lander modules and the tracks left by the astronauts.In 2012, images were released showing the Apollo flags still standing on the Moon.

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Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong in NASA's training mockup of the Moon and lander module. Conspiracy theorists say that the film of the missions was made using similar sets to this training mockup.

Jim Lovell training for Apollo 13

Photo of Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan with the Earth in the background

The photos contain artifacts like the two seemingly matching 'C's on a rock and on the ground. These may be labeled studio props. The "C"-shaped objects are most likely printing imperfections and do not appear in the original film from the camera. It has been suggested that the "C" is a coiled hair

Original AS16-107-17446 photograph

Close-up of later generation prints of 17446

There appear to be "hot spots" in some photos that look like a huge spotlight was used.

• Pits on the Moon's surface focus and reflect light like the tiny glass spheres used in the coating of street signs, or dew-drops on wet grass. This creates a glow around the photographer's own shadow when it appears in a photograph .
• If the astronaut is standing in sunlight while photographing into shade, light reflected off his white spacesuit yields a similar effect to a spotlight.
• Some widely published Apollo photos were high-contrast copies. Scans of the original transparencies are generally much more evenly lit. An example is shown below:

Original photo of Buzz Aldrin during Apollo 11

The more famous edited version. The contrast has been tweaked (yielding the "spotlight effect") and a black band has been pasted at the top