Earlier this year, Texas-based company Intuitive Machines successfully landed near the Moon's south pole - marking the first American touchdown on the lunar surface in over 50 years.
This came more than five decades after one of the nation's greatest achievements; when Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy to take Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin to the Moon back in July, 1969.
Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, and - six and a half hours later on July 21 - Aldrin and Armstrong etched their names into the books of when they stepped out of the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle and became the first humans ever to walk on the Moon.
However, conspiracy theorists are still more vocal than ever in their assertions that the Apollo 11 mission was faked.
In fact, documentary filmmaker Bart Sibrel is one of the most outspoken critics of the Moon landing - and even copped a punch from Aldrin himself when he confronted the astronaut back in 2002. Check out the moment below:
The resurfaced footage captures the altercation involving a then-72-year-old Aldrin, where the astronaut is accosted by a filmmaker demanding that he "swears on the Bible" regarding the authenticity of his lunar landing.
In the video, Aldrin is seen attempting to cross the street while being followed by the persistent filmmaker.
As the confrontation escalates, a hotel concierge intervenes to defuse the situation, while Aldrin expresses frustration, urging the filmmaker to leave and threatening to involve the police. Despite Aldrin's attempts to disengage, the filmmaker, Bart Sibrel, persists with his conspiracy theories.
Sibrel accuses Aldrin of falsely claiming to have walked on the Moon, prompting Aldrin to respond with a right hook.
Prior to the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, Sibrel claimed to have proof that the whole event was a hoax.
Sibrel alleged that he has documents containing a list of 15 government personnel who were allowed access to the alleged fake Moon landing - as well as the clandestine operation's name. Sibrel has not named his source, who purportedly feared for his life, and asked him to keep the information secret until a decade after his death.
In an interview with British tabloid newspaper The Sun, Sibrel stated: "This conspiracy is the most symbolic of government arrogance."
Buzz Aldrin now gives talks on space travel. Credit: Jim Bennett/Getty
Sibrel continued: "It was totally 100 percent contrived - none of it is true - yet they held ticker-tape parade for these guys and gave them congressional medals of honor. It was a needless lie really just done for no reason other than arrogance and greed. And it makes a sucker out of every American who believes it is true."
He added: "What the United States government is claiming is that they sent astronauts one thousand times farther than they can send them today, with fifty years older technology and on the very first attempt, with all of NASA containing one-millionth the computing power of a cell phone. The alleged Moon landings are the only technological claim in the entire history of the world that was not far surpassed fifty years later."
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr. in 1969. Credit: Space Frontiers/Getty
According to Sibrel, alleged photographs of the Moon landing show evidence of being doctored. Sibrel points to pictures of the shadows on the moon which can apparently only be recreated in a studio by electrical light. He also believes that the Van Allen belt is too radioactive for humans to pass through and survive.
Check out the astronauts struggling to cope with the low lunar gravity:
Sibrel continued: "If it were not for people’s emotional attachment to the alleged Moon landings, this fifty-year unrepeatable claim, also with only one-thousandth the distance capable five decades later, would also be easily recognized as the fraud that it sadly is.
"This truth is being deliberately repressed to hide the enormous and arrogant corruption of the federal government."
So was the moon landing faked? Most experts believe not, and have debunked the claims of conspiracy theorists with scientific refutations.
Nevertheless, I feel the argument will continue for another 50 years...
