Science + Humor + Explosions = Mythbusters

If you’re not familiar with the Mythbusters, they’re the talented team of people who combine science, robotics, engineering, ballistics gel, explosives, and many other ingredients, to test urban legends and popular myths. This program is one of my favorites. It’s great geek fare, and if you don’t get it, you should find it on DVD.

The main on-screen members of the team are Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, and Tory Belleci. They’ve taken on lots of interesting projects, testing everything from sharks (can you stop an attack by poking it in the eyes?) to MacGyver (can you foil the bad guys and make an escape using whatever you can find lying around?).

Tonight, they’re taking on the moon landing conspiracy theory. Did those astronauts really land on the moon and bring back those photos (the flag, the footprints, etc.), or was it all staged in a studio?

First, Adam and Jamie focus on photos, testing the theory that two of NASA’s most famous images were shot in a studio. Then, they investigate the myth about walking on the moon, including how the government shot the footage in a studio and then simply slowed it down for that famous “low-lunar gravity look.” Grant, Tory and Kari take on hoax theories involving a vacuum chamber -– specifically, the claims that footage of astronaut footprints and the American flag were physically impossible and had to have been faked. Without water in a vacuum, how could the moon footprints have been so defined? In the absence of wind, can a flag flutter as if caught in a breeze? Finally, Adam and Jamie travel to a New Mexico observatory to see if they can catch a reflection of a man-made object using a laser aimed at the moon.

I’ve never really doubted the veracity of the official moon landing account, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing my favorite team investigate this one tonight. I wonder what kind of robot Grant will build this time, and whether they’ll be able to blow anything up at the end…