We’re off to see the Google*, the wonderful Google of Oz…

*I do check questions from other search engines. For an explanation behind these posts, click here.

1. “if buzz aldrin was lunar module pilot why did neil armstrong land it”

I’m assuming this is reference to the Apollo 11 landing, and an interesting question. The crew position of Lunar Module Pilot was something of a misnomer, as the LMP did not fly the lunar module. The name is more to designate a specialisation.

Take the three crew positions on Apollo, but remove the idea of actual flying.

Commander: The man in charge with the final say over all aspects of the spacecraft.

Command Module Pilot: The specialist for the command module, who was most familiar with how the CM worked, its systems etcetera.

Lunar Module Pilot: Exactly the same as the CMP, only for the lunar module instead.

The use of the word “pilot” is the true misnomer. Most of the LMPs were lunar module specialists, most of whom had been involved in the development of the LM. The same is true of the CMP, with his specialism on the command module. The commander oversees these two machines and is capable of flying them both, but has two experts working beneath him in the crew assignment.

This applies some of the time for flying; for example, it was the CMPs job to extract the lunar module in orbit before flying to the moon. The CMP does “fly” the command module at this stage, and during the lunar orbit rendezvous. So “pilot” is an accurate description.

However, in the case of the LMP, he does not fly the lunar module. The Commander is the senior astronaut and performs the actual mechanics of flying, while the LMP keeps a check on the systems of the LM. If you listen to a descent, you will hear the LMP advising the Commander as he (the CDR) flies, of the LM systems. This is a specialist role based more on the hardware of the LM rather than “flying” it. For this reason, I believe the LMP should have been the LMS – the lunar module specialist.

One Apollo LMP did fly the lunar module; Alan Bean on Apollo 12. This was more due to the eccentricity of his Commander and friend, Pete Conrad, than any crew assignment.

2. “golf slicing on the moon”

This is largely to do with this aspect of the conspiracy theory, which I will not repeat, but I do have something to add. My Aunt is a very good golf player and heavily involved in the running of her golf club – she plays off something stupid like 3. I asked her what she believed caused a golf to “slice”, and if – as conspiracy theorists’ claim – a slice is caused by movement of air over the ball (which of course is impossible on the moon, which is in a vacuum, so there is no air to “slice” the ball – hence the conspiracy).

She is of the opinion, and I am inclined to believe her, that the air makes no difference whatsoever to what constitutes a “slice” – it is all about how the club contacts with the ball. To achieve a “slice”, you make a poor contact with the ball and from this, the ball reacts. As an experienced and capable golfer, she believes it would be completely possible to “slice” a ball on the moon – providing you made a poor enough contact, of course.

3. “which astronaut was on the Gemini 8 flight that was aborted due to an emergency”

Two astronauts, actually: Neil Armstrong was the Commander, Dave Scott was the Pilot. Both went on to walk on the moon, with Apollo 11 and 15 respectively.

Following their unexpected return to earth, Armstrong and Scott were photographed in Gemini 8 following splashdown, resulting in one of my all-time favourite Apollo pictures.

Too cool for earth orbit.

4. “did Apollo 9 land on the moon”

No. Apollo 9 did not leave earth orbit. I should also add that this was the intention; Apollo 11 was the first attempted (and successful) landing.

Apollo 9 was a “full up” test of the LM and CM in space flight.

5. “what is the significance of Apollo 6? Apollo 7? Apollo 8?”

Apollo 6: An unmanned test of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Not particularly “significant” in itself, but significant to the development of the programme.

Apollo 7: The first manned flight of Apollo.

Apollo 8: Extremely significant – the crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to orbit the moon in December 1968. Apollo 8 LMP Bill Anders also took one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century; Earthrise.

'Earthrise', taken by Bill Anders on Apollo 8

6. “some problems the crew of Apollo 11 faced”

• During the landing, the computer signalled alarms “1202″ and “1201″. These translate as the computer saying: “I have too much to do, so I’d like to start from the top and start again”. Mission Control (namely Jack Garman and Steve Bales) advised that providing the alarms were intermittent, the landing could continue. The fault arose due to the computer having to deal with radar singles; one from the landing radar, and the rendezvous radar which may be needed in case of a direct abort. This was an oversight, and was corrected in future missions.
• Also during the landing, Neil Armstrong noticed the Eagle was coming in “a little long” – and was heading directly for a boulder field. They were passing expected landmarks around four seconds earlier than they should have been. Armstrong took semi-automatic control to correct this.
• During the time on the lunar surface, Buzz Aldrin accidentally broke a switch in the cramped lunar module. Unfortunately, it was a vital switch; the switch to arm the ascent engine for lift off from the moon. A felt tip pen was used instead, and proved an odd but nevertheless effective way of flipping the switch.

7. “fox video about the lunar landing hoax”

The “documentary” in question was broadcast by US TV network Fox in 2001. It is entitled Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land On The Moon? and is one of the most ridiculous so-called documentaries to ever be produced. It gave airtime to some of the more ridiculous conspiracy theories, such as the “C” rock and the “no stars” issues. Bad Astronomy do a complete and utter trouncing of the “science” within it here - I’d imagine the people who produced the documentary were rather shamefaced when they read what BA thought of it.

You can view it on YouTube, if you’re in the mood for a laugh. I must admit I was caught by it at first, but I plead youth and ignorance.

8. “how to write essay on debunking stupid conspiracy theories”

Best Google search in the history of Google.