Despite how momentous and well-documented the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, was, that doesn't mean everybody thinks what happened really happened. Conspiracy theories have an alluring pull on the public, perpetuating many falsehoods and myths attached to the first moon landing. Here are our favorite fact checks we've written over the years about the event in honor of its 55th anniversary:
Does This Footage Show Stanley Kubrick Directing the Moon Landing?
In December 2023, a X post shared footage of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing with a film crew present on the moon — apparent evidence the whole thing had been faked. If you thought the clip looked like it came straight from a movie, though, you wouldn't be wrong. The clip actually showed behind-the-scenes footage from the set of the 2018 movie "First Man," starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.
Gaylord Perry's 'Moon Shot' Home Run
Gaylord Jackson Perry was a lanky 6'4" right-handed pitcher from North Carolina notorious for his use of the spitball decades after baseball had banned it. Accounts have claimed over the years that Perry "fulfilled his manager's prophecy" by hitting his first home run minutes after Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface. We found the tale was only a legend , however.
Does This Pic Show Neil Armstrong's Family Watching Him Lift Off to Moon?
Yes, this photo shows Neil Armstrong's family watching his launch to the moon from Cape Canaveral in 1969. The liftoff took place on July 16, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Did Native Americans Give NASA a Message to Take to the Moon?
No, Native Americans didn't provide NASA with a cryptic message to take to the moon. We found it was a " joke " referencing the displacement of Native Americans by European settlers that was first included in a 1987 Western Folklore article about "Native American Views of the Space Program."
Apollo 11 Crew's Picture Already on Nixon's Wall When He Spoke to Them on Phone?
A conspiracy was afoot about the moon landing in February 2024, if X users were to be believed. An old photograph of former U.S. President Richard Nixon showed him speaking by telephone to the astronauts of Apollo 11 soon after they landed on the moon in 1969 — while a photograph allegedly taken during that same moon mission was clearly visible on his Oval Office wall. We found it was a real photograph, but the caption misrepresented the situation.
Did Buzz Aldrin Take Communion on the Moon?
One of the smaller details lost amidst the historic and scientific achievements of the Apollo 11 mission? It also marked the first occasion on which a Christian took Communion on an astronomical body other than Earth. Buzz Aldren has openly described in print several times how he observed Communion using what he had brought with him to the moon.
Photo Shows Software Engineer Margaret Hamilton with Moon-Landing Code She Wrote?
Yes, this photograph authentically shows pioneering software engineer Margaret Hamilton standing next to the code she wrote by hand that was responsible for the success of NASA's Apollo lunar landing missions. She played a critical role in developing flight software for the Apollo program.
Did Neil Armstrong Flub His First Words on the Moon?
English has no handy term for what the French call esprit de l'escalier: the "wit of the staircase," clever remarks that only come to mind once it's too late to deliver them. If English did have such an expression, we could apply it to the words of Neil Armstrong, who had the misfortune of misspeaking his scripted line during one of the most widely viewed live broadcasts in TV history. Instead of saying "that's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said, "that's one small step for man." The quote later becoming one of the most well-known in the English language.
Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky!
No, Neil Armstrong didn't cryptically utter "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" as he first stepped onto the moon. The NASA transcripts of the Apollo 11 mission record no such statement. Armstrong said in late 1995 he first heard the anecdote delivered as a joke by comedian Buddy Hackett in California.
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