The Moon as a Hollow Spaceship
In 1970, two Soviet writers claimed the Moon was a hollow spaceship, steered into orbit around the Earth long ago by an alien civilisation.
What was reported
In 1970, the Soviet magazine Sputnik published an article by Mikhail Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov, titled 'Is the Moon the Creation of Alien Intelligence?' They argued that the Moon was an artificial, hollow world with a thick metal shell, hollowed out and driven across space to Earth by aliens.
They pointed to the 'ringing' of the Moon recorded after Apollo 12 crashed its lunar module onto the surface, and to the hard, metal-rich rocks the astronauts brought back. The idea became popular in books about ancient aliens.
Explanations offered
Measurements of the Moon's gravity and the way it spins show it has a dense core and is not hollow. Seismometers left by Apollo crews showed a layered, rocky interior, and the long 'ringing' is explained by its dry, cracked crust. Most scientists think the Moon formed from debris after a giant collision with the young Earth.
- When
- Proposed in 1970
- Where
- The Moon
- Witnesses
- Two Soviet writers, and their readers
- Status
- Disproved
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.