52 years ago I thought about what was explained to me, that so many people back in the 60s were ignorant about the technology but was too young to point this out in my own religion, who also claimed the Apollo Moon landing missions to the Moon NEVER happened, and were a hoax.

I never agreed with their 52 year old morning walks, room conversations and classes that claimed they never went to the Moon "we see" in the sky and that all moon rocks came from the Arizona desert.

Fortunately, the spiritual teachings in the Vedas are way, way bigger than their narrow minded ignorance about the Moon landings, and that is what I follow today as my personal Facebook pages reveal.

So today in my early 70s, I am no longer afraid to say my Spiritual teacher back then did not fully understand how the Apollo missions to the Moon did occur and Astronauts did go to the Moon.

And I have always maintained that the heavenly dimension on the Moon called Chandraloka, could not not be detected by earthly Moon expeditions, or Astronauts because they do not have the qualifications or subtle body to enter. 

This I believe is what Prabhupada really meant because he was referring to the heavenly realm of Chandraloka.  

However, they DID go to the Moon we see.

Obviously, due to lack of information about this new science of space travel, and being surrounded by very young immature disciples, most still in their 20s in 1972

Even the Ph.Ds we had back then like Richard L Thompson (Sadaputa dasa) was only 27 years old when he met Prabhupada in 1974 and in the same year received a Ph.D in mathematics.

He was still in his early learning stages like all the Ph.Ds who had joined the movement.

In 1969 all the technology that sent man to the "Moon we see" was very new to the entire world including our own Ph.D students, many scholars and educators back then could NOT understand this new science and had very little knowledge of space travel. 

Even some naive devotees, still today, can not understand how earth is a spherical globe, foolishly claiming if it was, all the sea water would fall off.

I believe ISKCON'S nonsense denial of the Apollo missions to the Moon, and claiming that the Moon is further away from earth than the Sun is, does not help the preaching mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The fact is manned missions DID go to the Moon we see in the Sky six times between 1969 and 1972.

I believed that 54 years ago, and still believe it today, and soon this will be proved when NASA goes back in 2024, followed by China, India and Japan.

Not that it is necessary, no, it isn't but it's man's nature to explore, to climb big mountains, to discover flight etc

However, the real goal of life for a Vaisnava is re-establishing one's relationship with God (Krsna) and not chase mundane material gain which includes space travel and going to the Moon, better to go back home back to Godhead.

This is all explained in my Google blogs..^*^..