The Hollow Moon theory
The Hollow Moon theory, also known as the Vasin-Shcherbakov Theory was proposed in 1970 by Michael Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov, two members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, in an article in the Sputnik magazine titled “Is the Moon the Creation of an Alien Intelligence?”. In the article the two scientists argue that our satellite would be a hollow planetoid made by unknown beings in possession of technology far superior to any other available on Earth.
Enormous machinery would have been used to melt rocks and create large cavities inside the Moon, resulting in abundant lava flows onto the lunar surface. The Moon would therefore be made up of an external shell, made with metal waste from rock processing, and an internal hull, a sort of deeper shell.
Despite the numerous Apollo missions, the Moon remains an enigma for scientists. However, as Vasin-Shcherbakov state in their article, many lunar enigmas could be explained in light of their hypothesis. The origin of the Moon is one of the most complex problems of cosmogony.
So far, there have been four hypotheses under discussion:
- The Moon was once part of the Earth and some kind of force ejected it into orbit. This theory, according to the two researchers, has been disproved by the most recent research.
- The Moon formed independently from the same cloud of dust and gas as the Earth, becoming a natural satellite. But then why is there a big difference between the specific gravity of the Moon (3.33g per cubic centimeter) and that of the Earth (5.5g)? Furthermore, analyzes of the stones brought to Earth by the Apollo missions reveal that the composition of lunar rocks is different from those on Earth.
- The Moon formed separately and far from the Earth (perhaps outside the Solar System). This means that our satellite would have navigated the cosmos for a long time and once it arrived close to the Earth, thanks to a complex interaction between gravitational forces, it would have been captured in a perfectly circular geocentric orbit. This would be a truly exceptional combination of factors!
- Recently has been proposed that the Early Earth collided with a Mars-sized dwarf planet of the same orbit approximately 4.5 billion years ago in the early Hadean eon (about 20 to 100 million years after the Solar System coalesced), and the ejectae of the impact event later accreted to form the Moon (Giant-impact hypothesis)
According to Vasin and Shcherbakov, scientists studying the origin of the Universe today have no acceptable theory to explain how the Earth-Moon system was born. Their hypothesis is simple: the Moon is an artificial satellite placed in orbit around the Earth by non-terrestrial intelligences unknown to us.
The hypothesis of the two Russian scientists implies that the Moon must be empty inside, with a thin metal shell which would explain why the large lunar craters, generally formed by meteorite impacts, are so shallow, having a flat bottom or even convex, unlike smaller craters which have a depth proportional to their diameter.
The authors point out that the surface material of the Moon is mainly composed of chromium, titanium and zirconium, all refractory metals, mechanically resistant and with anti-corrosive properties. If someone had to develop a material to protect a gigantic artificial satellite from the adverse effects of temperature changes, cosmic radiation and meteorite bombardment, they would probably have chosen precisely this mixture of elements.
This consideration explains why lunar rocks are such an extraordinary poor conductor of heat, a factor that greatly amazed the Apollo astronauts and NASA researchers. Wasn't that exactly the effect desired by those who designed the Moon?
The two Russian researchers write in the article:
“From an engineering point of view, the spaceship we call Luna is superbly built. This explains its longevity very well. It is possible that it is even older than our own planet: some lunar rocks have been shown to be older than Earth. If this is true, however, this could apply to the age of the minerals used and not to when they were used to build the satellite."
When was the Moon put there? And by whom?
According to the two researchers, it is difficult to establish the time when the Moon began to shine in the sky. Does this imply that there may have been a time when the Earth was Moonless?
Some scholars of history and ancient myths have found in ancient literature some passages taken from important authors of the past in which we clearly read that once the earthly sky was without the Moon, perhaps the most remote memory of humanity. Hippolytus of Rome, a 2nd century Christian author, explains in his Refutatio Omnium Haeresium that Anaxagoras and Democritus, two ancient Greek philosophers, taught that there was a time when there was no Moon.
Aristotle, in fragment 591, wrote that the territory of Arcadia, before being inhabited by the Greeks, was occupied by the Pelasgians, a proto-Hellenic culture which according to the great philosopher existed before there was a moon in the sky; for this reason they were called Proseleni. Plutarch in The Roman Questions speaks of the Arcadians as pre-lunar people. Finally, the Roman grammarian Censorinus alludes to a time gone by, when there was no moon in the sky.
If, therefore, there was once no Moon, who put it there and why? The two Russian researchers hypothesized that the Moon could be a very ancient spaceship, a sort of ancient Noah's ark used by an ancient civilization to travel in space for thousands of millions of kilometers and reach our planet to colonize it: we would be the their descendants. The authors imagine the interior of the Moon is filled with fuel for engines, materials and apparatus for repair work, life-sustaining instruments and observation equipment. Vasin and Shcherbakov do not believe that the Moon is still inhabited, and probably many of its automatic devices have stopped working.
But in some more malicious hypotheses, some alien conspiracy theorists believe that not only is the Moon still inhabited, but that it still plays a very important role in the plans of the alien 'occupiers'. A bit as described in the film "The Truman Show", in which the director of the program can observe everything that happens from his office located in the fake moon, so our 'invaders' use our satellite as an observation outpost for "The man experiment'.
On the other hand, the fact that the Moon always shows the same side to the Earth (a very rare characteristic throughout the known Universe) would facilitate the task of observers, who would have the possibility of constantly observing the Earth, without having to wait every time for the completion of the rotation of the Moon on its axis.
In any case, according to Vasin and Shcherbakov there are many other clues, unfortunately only circumstantial, in favor of their hypothesis, which at first glance might seem crazy. A similar crazy idea was put forward as early as 1959 by Professor Iosif Shklovsky, an eminent scientist, in connection with the satellites of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. After carefully analyzing the data, the researcher concluded that both must be empty and therefore artificial satellites.
When they wrote the article, the two Russian researchers hoped that they had raised enough questions to provide grounds for serious reflection on the matter, the result of which could solve the numerous lunar riddles and shed light on the true origin of the human species. Now, it's just a matter of waiting for direct evidence to support or refute their idea. Probably, there won't be long to wait.
