If you can afford the simple equipment necessary, you can literally send and receive a ping to a device left at one of the landing sites that proves without a doubt we have been there.

[–] SteveTech@programming.dev 20 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I'm not a radio engineer, but my understanding is you're just bouncing signals off the moon itself, there isn't a device that echos the signal back or anything. There are mirrors on the moon to reflect lasers back though.

[–] Strykker@programming.dev 12 points 1 month ago

They left a couple retro reflectors on the moon during the moon landings so we can bounce lasers off them to accurately measure the distance to the moon.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 4 points 1 month ago

I think that’s what they meant, cuz a ping to a radio device wouldn’t prove much, just that you are getting signals from up there. A laser would prove definitively.

[–] cheddar@programming.dev 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Couldn't such device be delivered without people, like a remotely controlled rover? How does that prove that people made an actual landing on the Moon?

[–] yuri@pawb.social 5 points 1 month ago

Because there’s like 6 of em, and we know exactly which mission launched each one.

[–] StormWalker@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You are correct, it proves nothing. None of these things prove that people have been on the moon. Unless you want it to. Then anything is proof 😅

[–] Quatlicopatlix@feddit.org 7 points 1 month ago

Yea shure you guys think that nasa was able to land something on the moon with either remote control or fully automated and then after a sucessfull landing of a unmanned craft deploy a mirror angled so you can bounce back laser but you also say that PEOPLE were never up there? What is even needed as proof for you people?