Russian Polling Center: "Half of Russians Do Not Believe in US Apollo 11 Moon Landing"

[Image source=NASA website/www.nasa.gov]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia's state-run public opinion research center (VCIOM) announced that about half of Russians doubt the authenticity of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing by the United States, perceiving it as a staged hoax orchestrated by the U.S. government. This reaction is interpreted as being related to last week's criticism by the U.S. Space Command of Russia's development of satellite interception weapons. Concerns are growing that conflicts between the two countries over space development and missile capabilities will intensify further.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, on the 29th (local time), VCIOM revealed that in a telephone survey conducted on the 6th of this month targeting 1,600 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide in Russia, 49% of respondents doubted the authenticity of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing and believed it was a fabricated event by the U.S. government. Only 31% of respondents believed the moon landing was real. Among the younger generation aged 18 to 24, 57% responded that they believe the landing actually occurred.

VCIOM's poll is interpreted as related to the strong criticism made on the 23rd by the U.S. Space Force, which claimed to have found evidence of Russia's new satellite interception weapon test. According to CNN, the U.S. Space Command previously issued a statement saying that on the 15th, Russia launched an object capable of destroying another satellite from space, strongly criticizing it as evidence of a non-destructive test of satellite interception weapons by Russia. The British Royal Air Force also issued a statement condemning the act alongside the U.S. Space Force, calling it a threat to the peaceful use of outer space.

Meanwhile, besides this survey, VCIOM found that 36% of respondents believe in the existence of extraterrestrials and said they occasionally visit Earth, while 13% are convinced that Russian authorities are hiding information about aliens. Conversely, 48% of respondents reportedly do not believe that extraterrestrials visit Earth or that alien civilizations exist.

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