A 2021 poll* of US adults asked,
“In your opinion, how likely is it that the following [scenario
is] true? The 1969 landing on the moon didn’t occur and was
actually staged somewhere in Arizona.”
The results showed that 27%
answered with “not sure,” “probably true,” or “definitely true!”
This poll isn’t an outlier.
It’s consistent with another poll** taken that year,
showing 29% with similar responses!
Especially concerning is that
these beliefs are more prevalent among younger generations,
those born after 1980.
We skeptics have seen this
situation play out again and again--an evidence-based rational
claim is rejected by a sizable portion of the public, which
instead supports an apparently absurd alternative explanation
for the evidence. What can we do?
Our next speaker has stepped up to
the challenge. On his own initiative, Marty
McGuire (the “Backyard Astronomy Guy” of
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) examined the publicly available online
science data compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO). ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has
surveyed the Moon’s surface from orbit for several years.
In April 2021, it flew especially close to the Apollo 11
and 12 landing sites, obtaining the best images of those
historic sites since 1969.
Mr. McGuire will demonstrate how
he was able to (as anyone who wants to have a look for
themselves can) obtain the raw images from ISRO and process
them.
He’s shared the instructions and images
across social media for the benefit of any other “do it
yourself” researchers.
He and NCAS President
Scott Snell (an engineer for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter) will discuss this and other evidence of the Apollo
landings.
Mr. McGuire, a marketing director
for a community bank by day, is also a “NASA Solar System
Ambassador” volunteer, communicating the science and excitement
of NASA's space exploration missions and discoveries with people
in his community. By night he is an amateur
astronomer, known online as the “Backyard Astronomy Guy.”
* The Economist/YouGov
Poll, “Belief in Conspiracy Theories,” https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/w2zmwpzsq0/econTabReport.pdf
** University of New Hampshire, Carsey School of Public Policy,
“Conspiracy vs. Science: A Survey of U.S. Public Beliefs,” https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/448/
Chip Denman, Grace Denman, and Scott Snell will discuss the history of SkepTours, NCAS's long-running project to create a SkepTours Google Map featuring places of interest related to science, pseudoscience, folklore, and just plain weirdness. 
