Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev suggests some Apollo moon landing footage was filmed on earth

Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev recently discussed his views on the Apollo Moon landings at an educational event. He acknowledged that while American astronauts certainly landed on the Moon, but said some of the footage presented to the public might have been filmed on Earth. Prokopyev stated, "Some say: 'They probably filmed it in a pavilion.' This is a possibility, perhaps, because in the US there is a firm rule: you have to report to the taxpayers somehow. How does one do this? In those days, there were no GoPro cameras. It was hard enough to make a full-length movie like the one they ended up with. Most likely, it was shot in a pavilion so that people would think the scenes were really taking place on the Moon," according to TASS.

Prokopyev emphasized that the Moon landings by American astronauts are "completely confirmed and proven," citing that even his senior colleagues in the Russian space industry, some of whom participated in the Moon landing events themselves, confirm the authenticity of the missions. He pointed out that the fact that US astronauts landed on the Moon "is confirmed by automatic probes and cannot be subjected to doubt," as reported by TASS.

Prokopyev said the presence of skeptics who question the authenticity of the US mission to the Moon. He reflected that "not everyone believes the American Moon landing was real," as noted by Gazeta.ru. He suggested that due to the technical limitations of television and cinema in the late 1960s, it was difficult to produce the moon landing films on the lunar surface itself. Therefore, some footage may have been filmed on Earth in a studio setting. Prokopyev remarked, "At that time there were no GoPro cameras," highlighting the challenges of capturing extensive video on the Moon.

Prokopyev's statements align with earlier confirmations from Russian space authorities regarding the authenticity of the Moon landings. In July, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov confirmed that the soil samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s were genuine, according to TASS. Borisov recalled that NASA had shared these samples with Soviet colleagues, and the Russian Academy of Sciences stated that the Apollo samples were "authentically lunar."

The Apollo 11 mission, which took place on July 20, 1969, saw American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the Moon. Their Eagle landing module touched down in the Sea of Tranquility. The crew commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the Moon, making one moonwalk lasting 2 hours and 31 minutes. During their time on the lunar surface, they installed the U.S. flag at the landing site, placed scientific instruments, and collected 21.5 kilograms of lunar soil.

From 1968 to 1972, NASA sent nine expeditions to the Moon as part of the Apollo program. Astronauts successfully landed on the Moon's surface six times, including the last mission by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972. A total of 24 American astronauts flew to the Moon and back, delivering over 180 kilograms of lunar soil to Earth. During each of the six expeditions with a lunar landing, two astronauts went onto the surface of the Moon while one remained in the orbital module, resulting in 12 Earthlings visiting the Moon.

Despite extensive evidence and consensus within the scientific community, conspiracy theories have persisted over the years, claiming that the Moon landings were fictitious. These theories first gained traction following the 1976 publication of "We Have Never Went to the Moon" by US author Bill Keesing. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the flights to the Moon did not actually happen and that the film footage is the result of forgery, a notion reflected in the popular "Moon Hoax" theory.

In Russia, skepticism about the Moon landings remains significant. A 2020 poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) showed that 49% of Russians still do not believe that US astronauts actually landed on the Moon's surface, as reported by TASS.

Recently, Prokopyev's comments have added to the ongoing discussion about the authenticity of the Apollo mission footage. By suggesting that some of the footage might have been filmed on Earth to report to taxpayers, he highlights the challenges of documenting such missions during that era. However, he firmly supports the reality of the Moon landings themselves, relying on confirmations from his experienced colleagues and the evidence provided by automatic probes and shared lunar samples.

Sources: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, RBC, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Gazeta.ru, TASS

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq