NASA successfully landed the first man on the Moon on the evening of July 20, 1969. The mission saw astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin safely fly to the Moon and back. But the monumental scientific and technological achievement has over the years been marred by claims of forgery and deceit. A popular conspiracy theory stipulates the Apollo 11 Moon landing was filmed by Hollywood legend Stanley Kubrick in a film studio.
Film expert Howard Berry, however, does not believe the claims stack up when compared to the available evidence.
Mr Berry is the Head of Post-Production and Programme Leader for MA Film and Television Production at the University of Hertfordshire.
In an article for The Conversation, the film expert explained why the Moon landing footage could not have been faked in a Hollywood studio.
A popular conspiracy claim states the lighting on the Moon’s surface is unnatural and resembles studio stage-lighting.
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However, the lighting might seem unusual to our eyes down here on Earth but out there on the Moon, the situation is completely different.
Mr Berry said: “Yes, it’s a spotlight – a spotlight, 93 million miles away. It’s called the Sun.
“Look at the shadows in the footage. If the light source were a nearby spotlight, the shadows would originate from a central point.
“But because the source is so far away, the shadows are parallel in most places rather than diverging from a single point.”
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Another thing to consider is the amount of light reflected by the lunar surface.
The Moon is an incredibly good reflector, which explains why it shines so bright during the night.
Conspiracy theorists who believe the Moon landing was recorded in a film studio are also wrong about the framerate of the footage.
According to Mr Berry, the standard framerate for feature films is 24 frames per second, while TV studios record footage at 25 to 30 frames a second.
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All of the Apollo 11 footage was filmed at an incredibly slow 10 frames per second in Slow Scan Television format (SSTV).
The expert also noted the footage could not have been filmed normally and the slowed down for the purpose of broadcast.
He said: “At the time of the broadcast, magnetic disk recorders capable of storing slow motion footage could only capture 30 seconds in total, for a playback of 90 seconds of slow motion video.
“To capture 143 minutes in slow motion, you’d need to record and store 47 minutes of live action, which simply wasn’t possible.”
What about film director Stanley Kubrick? Could he have filmed the Moon landing?
The Hollywood legend was a notorious perfectionist with an incredible eye for detail.
But the cinematographer was just as notoriously afraid of flying.
Why could this be an issue? Because Mr Berry said the director would have instead on filming on location.