Fact check: Did Buzz Aldrin really admit he never went to the Moon?

Metro

4 days ago

Hiyah Zaidi Published July 18, 2025 12:44pm Link is copied Comments Going to the Moon is one of humanity's greatest achievements, with the first two people stepping foot on the lunar surface being Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. However, as the 56th anniversary of the event rolls around, social media users are sharing a resurfaced clip of Buzz Aldrin being interviewed by Conan O'Brian, an American TV host, where the astronaut says that parts of the moon landing broadcasts were animated. Another circulating clip claims Aldrin admitted they never went to the Moon. So, what's going on? (Picture: Getty) In an interview, which can be found on YouTube, Mr O'Brien says: 'Let's talk about this because this is fascinating. I remember very clearly; I think anybody who was alive at the time does. I remember my parents waking me up and we went down, and we watched you guys land on the moon.' Mr Aldrin replies: 'No, you didn't. Because there wasn't any television, there wasn't anybody taking the picture. You watched animation so you associated what you saw with… you heard me talking about, you know, how many feet we're going to the left and right and then I said contact light, engine stopped, a few other things and then Neil said "Houston, tranquility base. The Eagle has landed." How about that? Not a bad line' (Picture: Getty) In 2009, NASA released a complete digital make-over of the original landing footage that clarifies the blurry and grainy images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum states that for Apollo 11's mission, Nasa worked with Westinghouse for a black and white camera costing $2.29 million to capture the moment. And on its website it says: 'Many broadcasters used simulations to flesh out their Apollo programming. Networks paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for scale models of Apollo command modules and rockets. During the broadcast, these were used to create simulations of the mission which were then intercut with real footage' - which may be the animations Aldrin was referring to (Picture: Getty) Vox reveals some television networks built sets to recreate some of the moments that were not able to be captured on video. Speaking to Reuters, Dr Margaret Weitekamp, Chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, said: 'The thing to remember is what news was like in the late 1960s, not 24-hour continuous coverage. The coverage of that trip needed to be explained to the public without the ability for continuous relay of video we are now used to. Animations would have been a part of a constellation of different ways that that story was told over a series of days. At the time, the coverage would have been combined with animations that helped provide a broader picture of what was being done. But this certainly doesn't invalidate that those landings took place' (Picture: Getty) In another clip, it shows Mr Aldrin at the 2015 National Book Festival, where a young girl interviews him about space, and asks why nobody has been to the Moon in a long time. He seems to respond by saying: 'Because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened.' However, the clip seems to be cut, and it misses out on some vital context where the quote could be understood to be referring to the lack of Moon missions since, rather than his own landing (Picture: Getty) The version on social media cuts off where he continues: 'And if it didn't happen it's nice to know why it didn't happen so in the future, if we want to keep doing something, we need to know why something stopped in the past if we want to keep it going.' Full Fact reports that he explains that money is a factor, as more money is needed for new space equipment and resources. He adds: 'So having achieved what the President wanted us to do, and then what thousands, millions of people in America, and millions of people around the world... You know when we toured around the world after we came back [from the Moon] the most fascinating observation was signs that said 'we did it.' Not just us. But we, the world. They felt like they were part of what we were able to do. And that made us feel very good' (Picture: Getty) There is plenty of evidence that the Moon landing happened, including photographs. The three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Micheal Collins, launched in Apollo 11 after a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 – to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969, and just four days later, they had reached the Moon with Neil Armstrong stepping down saying the famous line: 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' (Picture: Getty) Apollo 11 was not the only time a person stepped on the Moon. So far, a total of 12 people have been on the Moon, which all happened between July 1969 and December 1972 - now more than 50 years ago. Nasa has lined up a mission to send humans back onto the Moon's surface. This mission, known as Artemis III, is set to launch mid 2027, and will last around 30 days. The mission will see two crew members descend to the Moon's surface and spend around a week near the South Pole of the Moon before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth (Picture: Getty)