Moon Hoax?

I WANT to believe that man has been to the moon, and that 12 men have walked on its face.

Do I think they did?  Probably. Most likely.  If I had to put a number on it, I'm 97.44% sure (ala Dial Soap).  At the risk of sounding like the other whack-jobs out there, I'm one of those folks who won't be too surprised if it actually does come out that they didn't go.  Before you bail on me, hang on and here me out... this isn't another "whack job moon hoax site" -- or at least I don't think it is.

I absolutely don't doubt we've landed space craft on the Moon's Surface, including the Apollo Landers... but I can't get rid of the notion that there might not have been people in them.  I've read somewhere that the crew actually launched, but stayed in low Earth orbit, then returned  to Earth when the mission called for them to, after whatever they did send out to the Moon and back actually returned.

But, realistically, its common sense that we DID go.  It seems almost "Un-American" to think that we didn't.  I've heard interviews and speeches given by the Astronauts, and THEY seem to think they went. Its hard for me to accept that NASA, and all those thousands of people, could have pulled off a dupe this large without getting caught... but in the face of all of that, I have some doubts that just won't go away.

I'd like to believe that I'm open-minded, reasonably intelligent, and not one to jump to irrational conclusions.  I think that I am trying earnestly to look at it objectively, and with as little bias as I can manage... its no secret that those who say we didn't go are, for the most part, "less than scientific" with their reasoning.. but some of their arguments DO ring with enough weight to give you pause. 

If you have anything to add, certainly feel free to let me know, along with your reasoning as to why!

We DID Go
Maybe its not unrealistic One of the big arguments for "we didn't go" is that there are too many pictures -- they wouldn't have had time to take them... But after looking at the map of where the pictures were taken on Apollo 11, then that argument looses some of its bite.	The proof is in the pictures! Shortly after the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter got into orbit, and just in time for the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, NASA releases early photo's snapped by the LRO of the landing sites... And the one with Apollo 12 shows what NASA says are the foot paths.
Tracking the Apollo program There were people on the ground not related to NASA who were listening... this is the story of but ONE of them.  This seems to debunk the notion that NASA could get away with faking the transmissions	There ARE stars One of the arguments of the "We didn't go" crowd is that there are no stars in the pictures from the surface of the moon... but they actually are in some of them, it seems.
The Astronauts When you hear and see them talk about landing on the moon, and their experiences... they sure don't seem to be lying!	Micro Craters This is part of the NASA responds... and it stands on its own merit... the rocks have craters in them that could not have happened here on Earth.
What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon IF the reflector was made in the fashion it appears that it was built, then SOMEONE had to put it there, and position it to point back at Earth.	NASA Responds NASA released this essay in response to Fox's showing of "Conspiracy Theory"
Dust Explained Here's an explanation for the lack of dust on the Lander.  Its not very scientific, but it makes sense.	Dust remains at base of Lander In response to the claim that all the dust would be blown away from the lander's descent engine, images from Surveyor seem to show that most dust would remain - even close to the Lander.
THE BEST ARGUMENT: No one has come out and said "we faked it".  Imagine how many people would HAVE to be "in" on it.... IF it were faked, then you have to figure that THOUSANDS were in on the hoax, and you HAVE to suppose that AT LEAST ONE would have SURELY come forward. But... read on...
We DIDN'T go
Radioactive Moon THIS story - FROM NASA - really sends it home.  Excuse me, but don't you think these questions should be answered already?	Obvious Fake Pictures Exist This speaks to the credibility of NASA.  If they could fake this, for WHATEVER reason, then they could have faked ANY part of it.
Moon Storms Is NASA trying to explain away a future mission's failure to find foot prints?	Moon Rocks After Millions of years of build-up, you'd think that the majority of rocks brought back FROM THE SURFACE would be different than those found on Earth... Guess what?  They're not - including the amount of O2 dissolved into them.
Changing Camera Mount Did they use different prop vehicles during the photo shoot?	The Golf ball Shot The video doesn't match the photograph... how did THAT happen, I wonder?
Where'd the Lander go? It sure looks as if the Lander should be in the viewing angle in these pictures... but its not	Miss-matched Events A flap is missing, and there's no dust... weird
The Antigravity Machine Folks have asked about how the Astronauts "jumped" funny when they moved around on the surface of the Moon... here's a possible explanation.	The missing shadow To me, the flag SHOULD have a shadow, at least.
The Antigravity Machine - Continued Is this proof that the Antigravity Machine was used?	The missing LRV tracks If it drove there... wouldn't it have left tracks?
Photographs? This one is kind of weird... why would there be pictures of another mission on the Moon?	Conrad's Missing Trail OK... if we walked there... then where are the tracks he made heading to that location?
Anomalies (?) with pictures of Buzz The apparent height change doesn't bother me as much as the equipment changes do...	Shadow Angle & Lighting Anomalies One light source - the Sun - would mean one shadow angle... right?  I guess not...
Exit and Hatch anomalies The hatch seems different, depending on the picture	No Camera The cameras are mounted on the chest plate of the suit... but neither astronaut has one
The Background Studies The backgrounds seem to match up in ways they shouldn't...	The Weird Footprint Its there, plain as day.
The Landing Site This picture of the Apollo 11 landing site doesn't show any effect of the rocket that slowed the descent of the Lander... its as if it were PLACED there.	Port or Starboard The LRM mount and ramp starts out on one side, but on the ground, its on the other side.  Oops.
The dust proof Lander Surely SOME dust would have kicked up on the Lander, wouldn't it?	The Coolest Looking Robot Ever Built Russia put a remote probe on the Moon that had reflectors that can still be used today... REMOTELY.  That COULD explain for the items on the moon being there without the aid of humans.
Backlighting? This picture seems to be backlit... or cropped, or altered, or something... it just doesn't make sense.	Why the retouching? On the advice of a friend who's trying to help me "see the light", as it were, I went to the NASA website to pull down the "larger, uncompressed images"... and what I found was pretty surprising.
THE BEST ARGUMENT: Its a matter of time They didn't have time to take all the pictures they took... even with NOTHING ELSE BUT TAKING PICTURES - NOT EVEN WALK AROUND OR GET TO WHERE THEY TOOK THE PICTURES - they would have had to take a picture every 50 seconds...

Added in 2004