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How do we know that man went to the Moon? The Herald explains

Published

2 years ago

May 21, 2024

EVERY single argument claiming that NASA faked the Moon landings has been discredited. But even today, 50 years later, people discuss conspiracy claims online, on television programmes and around the dinner table.

Herald moon fact: With a powerful amateur telescope, you can see the Apollo landing sites and, if you look at the photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can spot the remnants of the Apollo missions yourself.

Were the Moon landings faked?

If you find yourself in a debate questioning whether humankind first stepped on the Moon on 20 July 1969, the chances are that you are woefully underprepared. Most people take it as gospel that the US government, NASA, the 12 astronauts in total who have walked on the Moon, and the 400,000 people involved in the Apollo programme would have neither the will nor the way to fake one of humanity’s greatest ever achievements.

But there are those who think the landings were a hoax. They claim the US government faked Apollo 11 and later missions either to deal a crucial blow to the USSR in the Space Race, or to boost NASA funding, or to divert attention away from the Vietnam War. The argument for any of these viewpoints rests on finding evidence that the landings were faked.

And more often than not, people point out peculiarities in specific images or videos to deal the critical blow. If someone uses these oddities as evidence, what do you say? Here are the most common arguments that support this view, and why each of them is wrong.

Evidence of the moon landings include items left there, reflectors installed on the surface, and lunar rocks brought back to Earth.

Photographic evidence

One of the most popular conspiracy arguments is that there are never any stars in Apollo photos. Free from Earth’s light pollution and hazy atmosphere, you would expect to see thousands of stars in all the astronauts’ images. Unfortunately, this argument rests on the photos being snapped during the lunar night. All manned missions to the Moon took place in sunny daytime. This meant starlight lost the battle against the very bright surface of the Moon, too dim to show up in photos.

Another common argument is that the crosshairs that appear in many Apollo images sometimes appear to be behind objects in the photos. If the images were real, this would be impossible, suggesting someone painted them on. But testing here on Earth has shown that the brightly lit objects make the crosshairs appear fainter. When these images are copied or scanned some of this detail is lost completely, giving the effect that the crosshair is behind the object in certain shots.

Others point to an oddity in a photo of a Moon rock taken during the Apollo 16 mission. There appears to be a ‘C’ written on it, like a lettered movie prop. Again, analysing the original photo there is no anomaly – the ‘C’ isn’t there. Most likely it was a piece of hair or thread introduced during copying.

A more subtle argument that the landings were faked is based on various misunderstandings of NASA equipment and lunar physics. A well-known example is the American flag that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin placed on the Moon. It appears to flutter in the wind in some photos. How could this happen when the Moon has no wind?

In fact, it isn’t fluttering at all. A horizontal rod at the top of the pole holds the flag unfurled. This makes it look like the wind is stopping it from hanging down. And there is a fluttering effect because the weak gravity on the Moon is not strong enough to uncrumple the flag. After a little waving while the astronauts planted the flags into the Moon’s surface, they have remained still ever since.

Fried by radiation

Perhaps the most convincing argument that the landings were faked has to do with something called the Van Allen belts. These are two giant doughnut-shaped belts surrounding the Earth. They are made of highly energetic charged particles from the solar wind. Some people believe humans couldn’t have passed through these belts without being exposed to lethal doses of radiation.

This was a genuine concern before the Apollo missions. And it is the reason scientists behind Apollo 11 made sure they protected the astronauts as best they could. They insulated the spacecraft from radiation with an aluminium shell. And they chose a trajectory from the Earth to the Moon which minimised the amount of time spent in the Van Allen belts.

Readings from the nine Apollo missions that reached the Moon showed the astronauts’ average radiation exposure was 0.46 radiation-absorbed dose (rad). This proved NASA was right to shield the astronauts from radiation. Though it’s less than that experienced by some nuclear energy workers, 0.46 rad is around 10 times more than the radiation exposure of medical professionals who routinely work with x-ray and radiotherapy machines.

Proof we walked on the Moon

Of course, until we return to the Moon there will always be anomalies and oddities in the records that can spark new claims that the Moon landings were faked. But it is the sheer size and variety of this record that proves every one of these claims to be false.

From the Apollo Moon missions, there are 8,400 publicly available photos, thousands of hours of video footage, a mountain of scientific data, and full transcripts and audio recordings of all air-to-ground conversations. We even have 382 kilograms of Moon rock that Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth. These rocks have been independently verified as lunar by laboratories around the world, ruling out a US conspiracy.

If this is not enough to convince the most hardened sceptic, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) might sway them. Today, LRO takes high-resolution pictures of the lunar surface from a low orbit. During its mission, it has captured the landing sites and the abandoned descent modules and rovers from the Apollo missions. And its resolution is so good it has picked up the dark squiggly paths that the astronauts’ footprints made. Spacecraft from China, India and Japan have also spotted these landing sites, providing further independent verification of the landings.

A final nail in the coffin of the Moon hoax theories is a simple instrument installed 50 years ago by Apollo 11. During their day on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin planted a lunar laser ranging retroreflector array on the surface. It’s still operational today and allows us to reflect lasers off of it and measure the distance to the Moon down to the centimetre. We simply couldn’t do this if we hadn’t visited the Moon.

Community

Pembrokeshire Lottery makes Superdraw winner’s Christmas extra special

Published

17 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

ONE lucky Pembrokeshire Lottery player has scooped a festive windfall after winning the £10,000 Christmas Superdraw held on Wednesday 3 December.

The winner, Mr Damon McGarvie, formerly of Milford Haven and now living in Llangwm, was selected with lucky number 41475. He plays through a salary-deduction scheme run by his employer, Pembrokeshire County Council.

Mr McGarvie’s name was announced live on Radio Pembrokeshire, after which the Pembrokeshire Lottery team made contact and presented him with his cheque later that day.

Speaking after the win, Mr McGarvie said he and his wife will be jetting off on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday over the festive period, thanks to the surprise Christmas windfall.

Pembrokeshire Lottery Manager Abigail Owens said:
“I am so pleased for Mr McGarvie. He has contributed to the Pembrokeshire Lottery for many years, and it is only by the continued support of our players that we are able to assist so many local businesses with interest-free funding from the loan fund.”

The regular weekly £2,000 draws continue in the run-up to the January Superdraw, which will offer a £4,000 prize.

To sign up or order Pembrokeshire Lottery gift subscriptions for Christmas, call 01646 690800.

Photo caption: Damon McGarvie with his winner’s cheque.

Community

Care home fees in Wales remain among the lowest – but families still face crippling bills

Published

19 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Tom Sinclair

WALES continues to offer some of the most affordable care home places in the UK, with residents paying hundreds of pounds less each week than in London or Scotland, new figures reveal.

The average weekly cost of a residential care home place in Wales stands at £1,156 – £392 cheaper than in London (£1,548) and £142 below the UK average of £1,298, according to data published by the country’s largest care home reviews website, carehome.co.uk.

Even when nursing care or specialist dementia support is required, Wales remains significantly cheaper than most of the UK. A week in a Welsh nursing home with dementia care costs £1,440 on average – £327 less than in London and £124 below the national figure.

The figures, based on self-funder fees collected on 9 September 2025, underline a stark north-south divide that has persisted for years.

London is by far the most expensive region, with basic residential care now averaging £1,548 a week. Scotland, where care workers benefit from a higher minimum wage settlement, comes a close second at £1,539. In contrast, the North East of England remains the cheapest area at just £1,112 a week for residential care – almost £200 below the UK average.

Sue Learner, editor of carehome.co.uk, said the regional variations were only part of the story.

“Wales is the third most affordable region for most types of care, which will come as a relief to many families here,” she said. “But even at £1,156 a week, the bills add up to almost £60,000 a year. For the 49 per cent of residents who pay for their own care, these costs are devastating.”

The financial pressure is compounded by differing rules on state help across the UK. In Wales, anyone with assets below £50,000 qualifies for local authority support – more than double England’s £23,250 threshold and well above Scotland’s £35,000 limit.

Ms Learner warned that rising staff wages and looming increases in employer National Insurance contributions would push fees higher everywhere.

“Local councils are already stretched to breaking point,” she said. “Without genuine reform of the social care system – something governments have been promising for decades – more and more families will have no choice but to sell the family home to fund care.”

The website, which carries 390,000 independently verified reviews, is urging people to plan early and seek expert advice. Its free Care Helpline (01488 501 499) is available to anyone looking for a home that offers both quality and value for money.

As the population ages and demand grows, campaigners say the latest figures are another reminder that the postcode lottery in care costs shows no sign of disappearing.

UK care home fees at a glance (average weekly self-funder rates)

London: £1,548
Scotland: £1,539
South East England: £1,446
Wales: £1,156
North East England: £1,112 (cheapest)
UK average: £1,298

Source: carehome.co.uk, 9 September 2025

Community

Folly Farm marks second birth of critically endangered rhino

Published

20 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Luke Sinclair

FOLLY FARM is celebrating the birth of another critically endangered eastern black rhino calf – and it’s a boy!

This is the second rhino calf to be born at the family-run zoo, and the second in Wales as part of a managed breeding programme through its membership with EAZA (the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria).

After a 15-month long pregnancy, mum Dakima gave birth to a healthy male calf on Thursday 27 November. With only an estimated 39 eastern black rhinos born in the UK in the past 25 years, it’s a significant achievement for the captive European Endangered Breeding Programme (EEP) for black rhinos.

Eastern black rhinos are classed as critically endangered due to poaching and loss of habitat. There is thought to be an estimated 1471 Eastern black rhino left in the wild and around 109 in zoos across Europe, including Folly Farm’s newest addition.

The calf made its appearance at 6.34am and within a couple of hours was standing up, following mum around the enclosure and had started suckling.

12-year-old eastern black rhino Dakima arrived at Folly Farm in May 2017 as part of a European breeding programme and met her mate, 14 year-old male Nkosi.

Mating rhinos can be unpredictable, but their relationship blossomed and Dakima gave birth to her first calf at the start of 2020. Male calf Glyndŵr was Dakima’s first born and the first rhino calf to have been born in Wales. Glyndŵr was named after Folly Farm’s Founding Director, the late Glyndŵr Williams, and has since moved onto another animal collection to continue the breeding programme for the species.

Eastern black rhinos are solitary animals and therefore usually reside in their own paddocks. But when the time was right, Dakima and Nkosi were reintroduced again for some carefully planned ‘date nights’ – and keepers predicted she fell pregnant sometime in August 2024. After having Dakima’s stool sample analysed at a specialist lab in Chester Zoo, who run the breeding programme for Eastern black rhino, it was confirmed that baby number two was on the way, with a due date of mid-November 2025.

Conservation Officer, Jack Gradidge, said: “It’s always heart-warming to welcome new arrivals as part of the European Breeding Programme through our membership with EAZA (The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) – but it’s even more special when it’s such a significant animal and one who’s wild cousins are under threat.

“Dakima was a great mum with Glyn so it’s wonderful to see these instincts are still just as strong the second time around. She’s being very protective of her new baby, showing they have a strong bond already.

“This is such a monumental event for all the staff here and the zoo team have worked incredibly hard to create an environment where the rhinos felt comfortable enough to mate.

“Not only is this calf helping to increase numbers of a critically endangered species, he’s also the second rhino ever to be born in Wales – with his brother being the first!”

Along with other zoos across Europe, Folly Farm is part of a breeding programme to help increase the numbers of Eastern black rhino in captivity and, ultimately, the wild. They support a number of conservation projects alongside various animal charities – including their new partnership with ‘Helping Rhinos’, a UK based organisation who, amongst various other conservation initiatives, support a rhino orphanage in South Africa, caring for young calves who have become victims of the poaching crisis.

Simon Jones, the CEO of Helping Rhinos was delighted with the zoo’s happy news; “We are absolutely delighted to welcome news of this beautiful eastern black rhino calf at Folly Farm.

We are grateful for their support of Helping Rhinos’ efforts including the care of young calves orphaned by poaching.”

Most animals give birth at night under the cover of darkness – and Dakima gave birth early in the morning, just before the keepers arrived to start their day.

Jack explains: “Our rhino keeper opened up the rhino house and the first thing he saw was the security camera footage where a tiny newborn rhino was seen happily padding about the enclosure. After quietly taking a sneaky peak at the beautiful new calf to confirm what he had seen – he let the team know the happy news that baby had arrived!

“We then left Dakima alone with her new bundle of joy, giving them both some space to bond – but continued to monitor them on the cameras and did regular spot checks to ensure baby was starting to feed.

“For us, the next steps are just to keep an eye on Dakima and make sure the calf stays healthy and gets everything he needs from mum. Our goal is always to let nature take its course and interfere as little as possible.

“Nkosi will be a bit of an absent father, but that’s perfectly normal as male rhinos don’t have anything to do with their offspring in the wild. It’s unlikely we’ll introduce him to the calf for some time.

“In the wild, rhino calves can stay with their mums for up to four years, after that there’s a possibility this new addition could one day be released into the wild to help boost population numbers – or move to another zoo to continue the breeding programme in Europe just like his brother.

“It’s exciting to be playing our part in helping to safeguard these amazing animals for future generations.”

Folly Farm’s rhino keepers will monitor mum and baby closely over the coming weeks and they will be back out in the enclosure in due course.

Visitors shouldn’t expect to see the calf for a while but Folly Farm will be posting updates on their social media channels.

Folly Farm’s Kifaru Reserve welcomed rhinos to the park ten years ago almost to the day! It is a £500,000 purpose-built exhibit which tells the story of the role of modern zoos in conservation and highlights Folly Farm’s hands-on commitment to conservation through the projects it supports in the wild and closer to home.

For further information please visit https://www.folly-farm.co.uk/.