Man on the moon?

(image linked from www.nasm.si.edu)
What prompted this title was my visit to the National Air and Space Museum yesterday. It was a nice sunny day, perfect for museum hopping in the national mall. After numerous times circling around the museum I finally found a tiny street parking spot where I managed to squeeze my WJ in. Into the door, realizing I had forgotten my camera at home, I was actually able to pay more attention to the exhibitions. What caught my eyes the most was the bold display of the Apollo program in the 60's and early 70's. From moon rocks to lunar module to space suits, behind the bullet-proof glass, history was told in silence - man stepped on moon in 1969.

That was 40 years ago, pre-internet era, when people were craving for news from radio and television. Today, the powerful internet not only brought me pretty much everything I need to know about the Apollo program, but the extensive questions some have raised into the credibility of the program (site 1, site 2). Later Fox TV jumped in and aired the infamous "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?" on 2/15/2001. There were quick rebuttals from NASA, including this post dated 2/23/2001, in which Dr. Tony Phillips had eloquently dismissed the claims.

Both China and India had revealed their moon exploration time tables (by 2010 and 2007, respectively). These mission will never have the same historical impact on human history, but equipped with much advanced technologies nowadays, they might tell us more than the Apollo missions could offer.