Man fakes moon landing in own garage for $800

(Credit: Jonathan Worth/PopSci)

I know most of you out there think we landed two Americans on the moon in 1969. Well, let me tell you that you're wrong. It's all a hoax! It was done on a sound stage and George Clooney and Dan Aykroyd were involved!

I mean, look at this real-life version of the Atari classic Lunar Lander vector game!

It took British engineer Iain Sharp less than $800 and a year to build this replica in his garage to honor the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, and it works almost like the real thing. It's powered by a pair of old PCs he wrote custom software for. In addition, the movements are controlled by things like old inkjet printer motors, and fishing line. But what's important is it works just like a real lunar lander would--if one existed.

If Sharp can make a device like this in his garage in his spare time then it's not a leap to assume the U.S. government could have made a full-size mock-up with the years and millions it took to make the so-called "moon shot" happen. This awesome toy might be all the evidence I need. Myth busted.

(Via PopSci)

[myles taylor]

The sad thing is that your sarcasm will go right over the heads of most people.

[yanchineseguy]

Mr. Hickey? Sarcasm? Never.

[Ryan_R]

Good thing Adam and Jamie have already busted this one :)

[MrZook]

is that vector game supposed to be so small you can't see it?

[redmarine]

Mythbusters already busted this crapright? :P

[SteamChip]

"we landed two Americans on the moon in 1969"

A few more landings followed afterwards.

Easy to fake if you pay off all the "thousands" of people and enough astronauts to keep quiet about the scam all these years

A bigger feat than ACTUALLY going to the moon several times.

[CouchCarrot]

I always thought Dan Aykroyd's big break was the blues brothers. Better update the wiki then.

[mikeeagle]

Actually, we landed 12 men, 6 missions, and brought back 841 pounds of unique material from the moon. Com'on, if you are really so convinced that it didn't happen, go to a science center and bounce a laser of one of the mirrors the astronauts left on the moon. Satellites have photographed the remaining hardware and footprints on the moon. Even Pravda uncharacteristically published and article praising our moon landing back in 1969 :-).

[TheReverendDC]

I know it is sarcasm, but most won't get it.

Just to be sure, LRO just released pictures of the Apollo 17 site and flag, complete with footprints.

Folks, this is a joke. Of course we landed there. Overwhelming proof of it can't be denied. Even JAXA's satellite caught one of the moon landing remains on their moon mission. RELAX.