There’s an interesting article on CNN’s website about the debate within NASA as to how to respond (if at all) to those who claim that the moon landings were faked. It hits on all the major issues — the difficulty faced in trying to combat conspiracy theorists, the frustration faced by those who actually participated in the space race, and the importance of making sure that history has defenders who are as ardent as those who wish to either deny or conceal it. One such defender is James Oberg, author of a book that was originally supposed to be NASA’s own rebuttal but was pulled in deference to the agency’s preference to just ignore the lunatic fringe. Personally, I’m happy that people like Oberg exist; trying to reason with extremists is, by definition, an incredibly difficult undertaking, and it’s too easy to give up and hope that someone else picks up the ball and runs with it.