With Chang'e-6 heading to the moon, China's lunar exploration program has once again attracted the world's attention.
At the same time, a question that has plagued the world for decades has once again been widely discussed:
Americans landed on the moon in 1969, why did Americans not set foot on the moon for more than 50 years after 1972?
It stands to reason that after decades of vicissitudes, human technology is changing with each passing day, and science and technology are far more advanced than in the last century, and Americans were able to go to the moon 50 years ago, but now there is no reason why they can't go up.
So, why did the Americans abandon the moon landing after the Apollo program? Is it "not wanting" or "can't"?
Could it be that the US "Apollo moon landing program" is really a "conspiracy"?
The Americans "took the initiative" to abandon the moon landing
Apollo 11 launched
In the four years from 1969 to 1972, the Americans landed on the moon six times and sent 12 astronauts to the moon.
But after 1972, the United States abruptly halted the "Apollo" program.
There are different reasons behind it, but the most credible reason is actually one word - "money".
Kennedy announced the Apollo moon landing
As a capitalist country, the United States is engraved in its bones that "no profit cannot afford to be early."
The sixties of the last century were the most intense stage of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Soviets were the first to launch man's first artificial satellite, sending man's first astronaut into space.
In order to win back a city, the Americans "eyed" the moon and formulated the "Apollo program".
As a result, the manned landing on the moon became the most fierce and cutting-edge scientific and technological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
From the beginning, the Apollo program was not a purely scientific research project, but also had strong political overtones.
Armstrong
As a result, the Americans were the first to land on the moon, successfully overpowering the USSR on the lunar project.
The success of the Apollo program brought the United States enormous international influence and profoundly shaped the patriotic concept of Americans.
But the price is also expensive.
The 11-year Apollo program burned $25.5 billion!
Note that this is the dollar in the sixties of the last century, and the GDP of the United States in 1961 was only 583.3 billion!
According to the depreciation, it is equivalent to 1,453.5 billion US dollars today! Enough to build 100 Ford-class aircraft carriers.
After the successful landing of the Americans, they discovered an "embarrassing" reality: after landing on the moon, they did not get enough financial benefits.
On the contrary, continuing the Apollo program would consume tens of billions of dollars, which the US government was unwilling to afford at the time.
Many people say that the Apollo program requires the participation of 20,000 U.S. companies, which has led to the advancement of talent and technology.
This is true, but this is only "collateral value" and cannot compensate for the sky-high cost of the Apollo program in the short term.
In the final analysis, the political purpose of the Apollo program is the primary one, and once the greater political benefits cannot be brought about, there is naturally no need to continue.
In addition, there is another important reason why Americans have not set foot on the moon for 50 years, and that is that the technology has been "lost".
U.S. moon landing technology "broken"
What does it mean to be truly "technologically advanced"?
The Apollo program of the United States did it, not only leading the world at that time, but even ahead of the United States 50 years later, which is really amazing.
At that time, the Apollo moon landing in the United States was mainly a "powerful brick flying", and the electronics, materials, control technology, and computers used at that time were far less advanced than now.
But the Saturn 5 rocket, which sent the Apollo spacecraft to the moon, was too advanced.
The Saturn 5 super-heavy launch vehicle is one of the largest rockets ever carried by mankind, with a height of 110 meters, a total launch weight of 2,910 tons, and a total thrust of 3,400 tons.
The load capacity of low earth orbit is 120 tons, and the load capacity of lunar orbit is 45 tons!
What is the concept?
Long March 5
The Long March 5 carrier rocket, the strongest in service on the mainland, has a low-earth orbit payload of only 25 tons.
The most advanced "Falcon Heavy" launch vehicle in the United States has a payload of 63.8 tons in low earth orbit.
Falcon Heavy
Today, the biggest obstacle to the U.S. moon landing is the lack of reliable heavy-lift launch vehicles.
Saturn 5 is a heavy-lift rocket tailored by the United States for the Apollo program, and with the suspension of the moon landing program by the Americans in the 1970s, Saturn 5 also lost its usefulness.
Since the Americans were able to build a "performance monster" like the Earth Star 5 50 years ago, they must be able to build a heavier launch vehicle with stronger performance than today, right?
Theoretically, it is, but now American industry is embarrassed.
In order to land on the moon that year, 20,000 enterprises, more than 200 universities and more than 80 scientific research institutions across the country participated, with a total number of more than 300,000, including a complete industrial chain and a large number of skilled workers.
But because of years of de-industrialization policies, the United States today lacks skilled skilled workers and well-established supply chains.
Therefore, although NASA has kept the complete drawings of Saturn 5, it is not easy to reproduce them.
In addition, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice.
NASA simply did not have enough money to support a new manned lunar landing program, which led to repeated delays in the new lunar landing program.
In 2017, the United States announced its "return" to the moon, and in 2019, the Artemis program was announced.
In 2020, a moon landing is planned for 2024;
In 2023, a moon landing is planned for 2025;
In January 2024, the moon landing was postponed to September 2026......
Friends who do engineering know that the project has been repeatedly postponed, either because of technical problems or financial problems.
In stark contrast, the mainland's lunar exploration program has been steadily progressing, and a detailed plan for China's manned lunar landing has been announced.
There is no harm without contrast.
The Americans' current "crotch pulling" on the moon landing project has made the already controversial US moon landing even more "confusing".
Doubts about the U.S. moon landing
From the moment the United States announced the success of the moon, there were many voices questioning its authenticity.
This includes, but is not limited to, the posture of the American flag on the moon, the stars in the background, the shadow of an astronaut, the speed at which dust falls, etc.
But these details can basically be clearly explained, and they belong to the public saying that the public is reasonable, and the mother-in-law is reasonable.
With the continuous development of space technology in various countries, this is gradually coming back to taste, not to mention 1970, even today, there are still many technical difficulties in landing on the moon.
Judging from the photos taken by various countries on the moon, the remains of the six moon landings of the United States have indeed been discovered.
Logically, it is no easier for the United States to deceive the world by fabricating lies about the moon landing than it is to actually go to the moon.
Therefore, the author is inclined to believe that the United States did indeed "go to the moon" that year.
Musk has questioned the U.S. moon landing
But the specifics, such as whether the American astronauts landed on the moon, how many times it was a manned landing on the moon, and whether the moon landing process went as smoothly as the United States advertised, is debatable.
In the early years, someone asked NASA why it didn't come out to refute all kinds of doubts about the US moon landing.
NASA's reasoning is that not refuting the rumors can maintain the popularity of the US moon landing and is more conducive to deepening the public's recognition of the US moon landing.
But times have changed!
In the past, because the United States was recognized as the world's number one scientific and technological power, most people subconsciously believed that the United States could do it, so no matter how much they questioned the moon landing, it was for NASA to publicize.
However, with the implementation of China's manned lunar landing program step by step, the United States no longer has an overwhelming advantage in space technology.
The current director of NASA
At this time, it is too late for NASA to prove the authenticity of the American moon landing.
It's not that you don't believe it, it's that everyone really wants to open their eyes.
The United States can only dispel doubts if it lands on the moon again before China, but people from all over the world will feel that the United States landed on the moon 50 years ago, and it is natural to land on the moon again, and there is nothing to be proud of;
On the contrary, if China had landed on the moon first, viewers from all over the world would have felt that the United States had not gone up so hard now, and that it must have been a fraud.
Either way, the outcome is not optimistic for the United States.
When the United States decided to prove itself to the whole world with a "return to the moon", it had already proven itself weak.
China's manned lunar landing program was formulated in accordance with the development of its own space technology, step by step, and has nothing to do with other countries.
I believe that in the future, the Chinese will definitely go to the moon!
What are your thoughts on this? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.
Reference Sources:
[1] Global Network "Is the "Apollo Moon Landing" a Hoax by the United States to All Mankind? 》2019.07.22
[2] The Paper "Is Apollo's manned moon landing a hoax?" 》2023.12.19
[3] Red Star News, "The World's First Private Spacecraft Stumbled Successfully on the Moon, and the United States Returned to the Moon After Half a Century" 2024.02.23
In order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly and for reference only
【Disclaimer】The process and pictures described in the article are all from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy and no vulgar and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible! If there is any doubt about the incident, it will be deleted or changed immediately after contact.