Myths and truths about man's arrival on the moon

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THE space race it motivated the great world powers of the time, the USA and the Soviet Union, to take the first man to the surface of the Moon. For a long time, the USSR kept ahead in the conquest of space, so much so that they even took the first man there. On April 12, 1969, the USSR managed to place the Soviet astronaut YuriGagarin in Earth orbit aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.

The Americans were not left behind and then, on July 20, 1969, they managed to make the first alunissagem (Moon landing) in human history. The landing on the lunar surface had been broadcast to televisions around the world, the images showed the astronaut Neilarmstrong taking its first steps on lunar soil: small steps for a man, but a big step for humanity.

Neil Armstrong took man's first step on the moon.
Neil Armstrong took man's first step on the moon.

Even today, there are those who doubt that man actually landed on the surface of the Moon. The internet is full of videos, photos and conspiracy theories that, among other things, say that the Apollo-11 mission was, in fact, a huge hoax. However, the man already set foot on the moon sixtimes

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In all, twelve astronauts have been there, on six different missions: Apollo 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. O Apollo space program, which began in 1969 was brief and ended in 1972. The reason for its demise was mainly the high cost involved in lunar exploration.

In this article, we will discuss the main myths and truths about man's trip to the Moon, so that you can better understand the subject.

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Lookalso:Why hasn't man returned to the moon yet?

Truth: Apollo 11 mission numbers

Check out some impressive numbers related to the Apollo 11 mission:

  • In all, the mission lasted 8 days, 3 hours and 18 minutes. During that time, astronauts traveled more than 1.5 million kilometers away during your round trip.

  • The launch took place at Cape Kennedy, Florida. It is estimated that near the beach there were about 1 million people. the rocket ascent SaturnV, responsible for taking the module Columbia out of Earth, took about 12 minutes to enter orbit. The event was televised and watched by more than 650 million viewers all over the world.

    The launch of the Saturn V rocket, with the Eagle and Columbia modules.
    The launch of the Saturn V rocket, with the Eagle and Columbia modules. (Credit: NASA)

  • About 400,000 people worked on the Apollo 11 project, so in case this is all a lie, we would have a total of 400,000 employees involved in the secret!

  • The suits worn by Apollo 11 astronauts weighed about 90 kg.

  • The landing of the Apollo 11 lunar module was far from smooth, Armstrong saw imperfections in the terrain planned for the landing and had to trigger the semi-automatic pilot, with that, they managed to land 20 seconds before the landing fuel to finish.

  • The Apollo 11 mission cost about 23 billion dollars, the equivalent of 131.75 billion dollars these days, or, 425 billion reais.

To learn more about the Apollo 11 mission, read: Apollo 11 | All about the mission that took man to the moon

Myth: As there is no wind on the moon, the flag should not move

The Moon has no atmosphere, as its gravity is very low, for this reason, many believe that the flag placed on the ground by Neilarmstrong and BuzzAldrin it shouldn't move like in the footage.

However, few understand that the flag moved that way because of its own inertia and not because of winds or anything like that. Inertia is a property of matter that measures its tendency to stayin rest or in movementrectilinear, with velocityconstant, when subjected to a net net force.

The complex movement performed by the flag is the result of its inertia.
The complex movement performed by the flag is the result of its inertia. (Credit: NASA)

Truth: Astronauts left a mirror on the moon

armstrong and Aldrin installed on the lunar surface an optical device capable of reflecting electromagnetic waves back to their emitting source. This device, called LRRR (lunar laser ranging experiment), is used to this day to measure the speed and distance between the Earth and the Moon with great precision. In addition, on the Moon, there is equipment capable of detecting activity resulting from earthquakes and meteorite impacts.

Myth: The stars should appear in the photos taken by the astronauts

Many people believe that man has never been on the moon as it is not possible to see the stars when we look at the photos taken while landing on the lunar surface. However, this is perfectly explainable.

Astronauts were on the surface of the Moon which was illuminated directly by sunlight, which caused the camerasrudimentary of the time, they reduced their photography aperture and, with that, it was not possible to photograph the tiny bright spots that were the stars. Possibly, with the technology of digital still cameras, we would take incredible long exposure photos that would reveal details of the night sky that cannot be seen from here on Earth.

In the photos it is not possible to see the stars due to the opening of the cameras.
In the photos it is not possible to see the stars due to the opening of the cameras.

Truth: Astronauts brought pieces of the Moon to Earth

While on the Moon's surface, astronauts on the Apollo 14 mission collected about 23 kg of soil and rock from the Moon's surface. After landing and his famous phrase, Armstrong described the lunar ground as being formed by a very fine, slippery powder deposited above the rocks.

Lookalso:Learn the fundamentals about the history of Astronomy

Myth: Astronauts would not survive a trip to the Moon due to intense solar radiation

A very common myth is that astronauts would not be able to get out of the Van Allen belt unscathed, because of the high levels of radiation present there. O van allen belt is a large region that lies above the Earth's atmosphere, between 640 km and 58,000 km in altitude.

In this region, there is a large flow of charged and extremely energetic particles such as atom nuclei of Helium that are emitted by the Sun itself and cosmic rays, responsible for producing high levels of radiation. However, Americans have known of the belt's existence since 1950, thanks to astronomical data collected by space probes Explorer,pioneer and Luna.

Furthermore, we know that the Apollo 11 spacecraft crossed the Van Allen belt in less than two hours. The launch time was not chosen at random either: the ship passed through the belt at a time when radiation activity was at levels lower than usual.

Lookalso:The Parker probe and the journey to the Sun

During its period of crossing the Van Allen belt, the Apollo 11 spacecraft is estimated to have been exposed to 18 rads, a unit of measurement for the absorption of radiation: value well below what is considered harmful to human beings, 200 rads. Even though the astronauts' exposure would be low, the space engineers who participated in the lunar mission made sure to insulate the spacecraft exterior, for that reason, the astronauts absorbed no more than 0.18 rads over the 12 mission days.

The Columbia module was heavily shielded against radiation.
The Columbia module was heavily shielded against radiation. (Credit: Ludovic FarineShutterstock)

Truth: Astronauts were quarantined upon returning from the Moon

As a precaution, the first astronauts to land on the Moon were quarantined upon their return to Earth. The Apollo 11 spacecraft landed at sea, about 1400 km southwest of Hawaii. After being rescued, armstrong and Aldrin they were quarantined for 21 days as a way of ensuring that they would not have brought any illnesses with them.

Lookalso:What is Einstein's relationship to the atomic bomb?

Myth: There is a stone written with the letter C on the Moon

This myth says that in one of the photos taken during the moon landing, you can see a letter C written on a small stone. However, the original photos don't show this. According to NASA, the version of the photo where you can see the lyrics was possibly manipulated by someone.

Truth: Astronauts left some "souvenirs" on the moon

On the Moon, there are about 96 packages of human excrement, left by the 12 astronauts who have already passed through there, during the 6 manned missions. There are also 12 Hasselblad cameras, which were left behind during the mission. Apollo 14. At the time, the astronaut E d g a rMichel only brought a single camera with him, he claimed not to have taken the film from the other cameras, because he was out of time. In addition to these objects, during the Apollo 16 mission, Charlesduck left a portrait of his family on lunar soil, however, thanks to the intense solar radiation on the moon, the photo has probably faded completely.

Some experiments, such as a seismograph and a reflecting mirror were left on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission.
Some experiments, such as a seismograph and a reflecting mirror were left on the Moon on the Apollo 11 mission. (Credit: Nasa)

Myth: Apollo 11's onboard computer was "weak"

Compared to computers used today, yes. However, at the time of the spacecraft's launch, it was one of the most powerful computers ever produced. Together, NASA and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) developed a computer that worked with integrated circuits of transistors and resistors, at a time when computers occupied rooms whole. The AGC (Apollo Guidance Computer) had a frightening operating frequency: 2,048 MHz, and a memory equivalent to 76 kilobytes.
By Me. Rafael Helerbrock

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