Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fly Me to the Moon.

While Fly Me to the Moon is loosely based on the Apollo 11 moon landing, the movie takes many artistic liberties that change the story and characters. Apple Originals’ movie Fly Me to the Moon focuses on a marketing specialist named Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), who gets hired to sell the moon landing to the US public. She butts heads with the flight director, Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who thinks the agency should prioritize science over public opinion. The dynamic between these two characters creates a funny, heated enemies-to-lovers story.

This movie received buzz ahead of its release for two main reasons. Firstly, Fly Me to the Moon includes a star-studded cast with excellent chemistry and personality. Secondly, it centers on one of the most famous outer space moments of all time – the first man on the moon. Luckily, the movie lived up to the hype. Like all movies based on a true story, Fly Me to the Moon takes creative liberties by altering facts and condensing timelines. However, some of these changes have a more significant impact than others.

8

The Apollo Mission Had Its Funding By The Time Fly Me To The Moon Starts

NASA Remained Under The Budget Set Two Years Before The Lunar Landing

Throughout Fly Me to the Moon, NASA’s significant source of stress is whether it has enough funding for the Apollo 11 mission eight months before the mission. This creates a conflict when the marketing and engineering teams have to work together to win over the congresspeople deciding on the budget. Though it makes for a more compelling story, the timeline of Fly Me to the Moon doesn’t align with real history.

According to the book NASA’s First 50 Years Historical Perspectives, the most significant monetary issues occurred with Project Gemini, not Project Apollo. Additionally, Apollo’s moon landing budget was increased from $19.5 billion in 1964 to $22.7 billion in 1966, which they didn’t exceed. The entire Apollo Project cost $21.3 billion. Based on this information, the Apollo 11 mission would have already had the necessary funds eight months before the mission when the movie starts.

7

Apollo’s Lunar Landing Camera Was Created For NASA

NASA Worked with Westinghouse To Make The Lunar Camera

The mysterious figure Moe Berkus sets most of Fly Me to the Moon into motion, including enforcing Kelly’s suggestion to film the moon landing. When Cole says the technology doesn’t exist, Moe provides him with a camera made for the war that he could use on the rocket. This diverts from the actual history of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

To promote transparency and honesty, NASA decided to broadcast the moon landing, adding a camera to the Apollo missions starting with Apollo 7. By the time they added the camera in Fly Me to the Moon, the agency was working on Apollo 10.

According to the National Air and Space Museum, NASA contracted Westinghouse to create a small black-and-white camera with TV studio camera capabilities, working on a budget of $2.29 million. The device would broadcast the events to Earth on slow-scan television, which three stations on Earth would receive. They would then convert the signal into something normal TVs could show. This contract had no connection to the Vietnam War.

6

NASA’s Public Relations Team Was Made Up Of Reporters

The PR Team Focused On Brand Journalism Instead Of Marketing

Kelly Jones’ marketing job heavily connects to her background and willingness to lie in Fly Me to the Moon. She grew up helping her mom run scams, so it’s no surprise that she’d agree to fake a moon landing for NASA. While this creates a complex and compelling character, the public relations team for the Apollo 11 mission was made up of former news reporters, not marketers (via The Marginalian). The journalists knew how to attract attention while providing crucial, honest information about the project.

The reporters engaged in brand journalism, establishing a voice, perspective, and degree of trust between NASA and the US public. This reflected the idea of subliminally selling through stories and behind-the-scenes information instead of overtly marketing and spinning the truth. Ultimately, by taking this approach, the PR team managed to gain the approval of many Americans.

5

Apollo 11’s Flight Director Wasn’t Directly In Charge During The Apollo 1 Mission

Gene Kranz Still Blamed Himself For The Apollo 1 Tragedy

While the characters in Fly Me to the Moon are fake, Cole Davis isn’t entirely fictionalized, drawing many details from Apollo 11’s actual flight director, Gene Kranz. Cole’s direct involvement in the Apollo 1 tragedy shapes his character’s personality and choices. He was in charge at the time of the fire and was on site when they opened up the vessel. This isn’t how things went for Kranz.

Though Gene Kranz worked on Apollo 1 in Fly Me to the Moon‘s true story, he wasn’t directly in charge when the fire broke out, nor was he at the sight of the fire when everything was opened up. According to Kranz’s interview with Click2Houston, he explained that he was the flight director the day before and that he did the morning check, then he handed everything over to Chris Kraft.

The change between Fly Me to the Moon and the real story is likely made to preserve the truth that Kranz expressed in the interview – he blamed himself for what happened. He felt the weight of responsibility because he could have stopped what happened if he’d spoken up about not being ready. Making Cole, Kranz’s counterpart, more involved in the action gives him a more substantial reason to harbor guilt.

4

Apollo 11’s Flight Director Didn’t Make The Call On The Eagle Landing

The Eagle Incorrectly Reported Low Fuel Levels When Landing

In Fly Me to the Moon, Cole Davis has a significant moment of growth when he makes the judgment call for the Eagle to land on the moon despite only having eight percent fuel left to get them back off the moon. Rather than letting them know the risk, he lies and says they’ve succeeded in test runs within that range.

While this was a funny and dramatic moment, the Florida flight director didn’t actually make the call. According to an interview with Buzz Aldrin on Science Museum, the tense moment right before landing came down to the judgment call of the astronauts themselves.

The Apollo 11 crew should technically have aborted the mission at the 60-second mark. However, Armstrong and Aldrin quickly found a place to land with just under 60 seconds of fuel left. The after-flight analysis found that the low fuel signal was incorrectly triggered, and they had more than expected – a detail that Fly Me to the Moon also leaves out.

3

The First Moon Walk Occurred 7 Hours After The Landing

Fly Me To The Moon Condenses The Timeline

Fly Me to the Moon’s ending portrays the moon landing and the first moon walk as occurring over a very short period. There isn’t any waiting around between the two events, with Neil Armstrong descending for the first step almost immediately. Additionally, the president calls mere minutes after they step on the moon. However, according to the documentary Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon, the landing and lunar walk were spaced out by seven hours. During this time, they had to ensure the ship was undamaged.

Based on NASA’s restored Apollo 11 Moonwalk video, when they got onto the moon, Nixon called to speak with them at least a half hour after Armstrong and Aldrin first stepped on the moon. The choice to speed up the timeline of events was likely for narrative effect. It would’ve been boring and uneventful if everyone had waited for hours. Moreover, the drama with the cat required that everything happen quickly.

2

The Apollo 11 Left Many Things On The Moon

Fly Me To The Moon Reduces The Number Of Items Left On The Moon

When asked what the Apollo 11 astronauts are leaving behind on the moon, Cole Davis tells the interviewer they are leaving three things – footprints, a plaque, and bags of feces. Technically, Armstrong and Aldrin did leave these three things behind, but they also left so much more. According to Florida Today, the Apollo 11 astronauts left the following items behind:

• Footprints
• Part of the lunar landing module
• A plaque reading: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
• A patch with the names Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chafee – the Apollo 1 Astronauts
• Medals given to Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin – two late Russian cosmonauts
• A silicon disc about 1.2 inches in diameter with messages of hope and peace from 73 countries, the names of top NASA officials, congresspeople who supported Apollo 11, and the words “From Planet Earth, July 1969”
• A U.S. Flag
• A Laser Ranging Retroreflector
• A device to measure moonquakes
• A device to monitor lunar and solar dust
• Hammers, scoops, and other tools

These items reaffirm the idea promoted in Fly Me to the Moon that NASA employees saw this mission as a global effort rather than just a U.S. success. Everything left by the Apollo 11 mission and subsequent missions still remains on the moon to this day. While bags of feces aren’t listed, it’s probable the movie got that part correct because the Apollo 11 astronauts needed to replace the weight on the landing module with moon rocks and samples.

1

NASA Didn’t Fake The Moon Landing

This Conspiracy Theory Has Been Thoroughly Debunked

The most significant and concerning change that Fly Me to the Moon makes to the true story of the moon landing is NASA faking the moon landing. To be very clear and blunt, NASA did not fake the moon landing. Even without looking at the evidence, it’s implausible that 400,000 people and 12 astronauts could keep that kind of secret for so long. Additionally, scientists have repeatedly debunked these dangerous conspiracy theories. The Institute of Physics includes a page thoroughly refuting all the major arguments conspiracy theorists make to assert this claim.

Additionally, the proof that NASA astronauts walked on the moon can be seen through the breadth of scientific data, the moon rock, the footage, and the thousands of photos. All the Apollo landing sites are visible with a 4-inch or larger telescope magnifying at or above 75x (via Sky And Telescope). Moreover, the Lunar Laser Retroreflector that Aldrin and Armstrong placed on the moon is still functional to this day.

By including the fictional moon landing plot, Fly Me to the Moon risks reinforcing the idea that the moon landing was fake despite all the evidence to the contrary. Luckily, the version of the moon landing that aired in the movie was real. While hardcore conspiracy theorists will still lead with blind faith in their belief about the moon landing, Fly Me to the Moon confirms that even if everything that happened in the film was true (which it isn’t), humans still landed on the moon.

Sources: NASA’s First 50 Years Historical Perspectives, National Air and Space Museum, The Marginalian, Click2Houston, Science Museum, Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon, NASA, Florida Today, Institute of Physics, and Sky And Telescope