Well if you want to be pedantic, strictly speaking, the Moon and Earth are a binary planetary system.

I'm not advocating the fake theory but the reflectors could have been put there without people and you don't actually need them to do measurements because the Moon is so reflective anyway.

The Moon's albedo is only 0.12, but more to the point the Moon is also very rugged which means that a laser beam hitting the surface isn't reflected back in a direction you can predict. Fewer of your laser's photons are picked up at the detector because the regolith is reflecting them in all sorts of directions instead of more or less straight back at the sender. Nevertheless some measurements of its distance could be performed before reflective equipment was installed on the moon, but retroreflectors have improved the results greatly.

Retroreflectors can be installed by unmanned missions nowadays but the first unmanned installations of retroreflectors by the USSR initially got lost. The technology for doing this is of course much better now.

In fact you can't see anything else we left on the Moon from Earth but it can be seen from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. (I thought you could see lander modules and the like from Earth but apparently that isn't the case. LRO imaging picks up all sorts of stuff though).

They would have gone this year but all money was spent on visiting Salisbury and it’s world famous 123m spire on the Cathedral.

I have seen less credible theories on the History channel.

Edited by Hrolf The Ganger (19 Dec 2018 12.42pm)

its not the fact of still looking. To get definitive proof you would need to visit the moon and see if there was a trace of the united states, which they are currently working on doing.

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When they finally get there they will find nothing of course and when the Americans go back to prove they were there they will find a skip on the dark side containing ....

1. Lunar Module ascent/descent stages (16)
2. Flags (six)
3. Laser Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR) (1)
4. Passive Seismic Experiment (PSE) (1)
5. Neil Portable Life Support System
6. Neil Armstrong's Apollo Space Boots
7. Edwin Aldrin Jr.'s Portable Life Support System
8. Edwin Aldrin Jr.'s Apollo Space Boots
9. Empty Food Bags (2)
10. A Silicon Disc Carrying Statements
11. A Gold Replica of an Olive Branch
12. Mission Patch from Apollo I
13. Golf balls (2)
14. TV Camera (1)
15. Spring Scales (2)
16. Tongs (1)
17. Small Scoop (1)
18. Scongs (1)
19. Bulk Sample Scoop (1)
20. Trenching Tool (1)
21. Camera (Hasselblad El Data) (1)
22. Armrests (4)
23. Mesa Bracket (1)
24. Solar Wind Composition Staff (1)
25. Handle of Contingency Lunar Sample Container(1
26. Medals Commemorating Two Dead Cosmonauts (2)
27. Document Sample Box Seal (1)
28. Storage container (empty) (1)
29. Hasselblad pack (1)
30. Film Magazines (2+)
31. Filter, Polarizing (1 )
32. Remote Control Unit (PLSS) (2)
33. Defecation Collection Device (4)
34. Overshoes, Lunar (2)
35. Covers, Pga Gas Connector (2)
36. Kit, Electric waist, Tether (1)
37. Bag Assy, Equip.conveyor & waist tether (1)
38. Conveyor assy, Lunar Equipment (1)
39. Bag, Deployment, Life line (1)
40. Bag, Deployment, Lunar equipment conveyor (1)
41. Life line, Lt. wt. (1)
42. Tether, Waist, EVA (4)
43. Food Assembly, LM (4 man days) (1)
44. Earplugs, towels, soap & nail clippers (lots)
45. Lens, TV wide angle (1)
46. Lens, TV lunar day (1)
47. Cable assembly, TV (100 ft.) (1)
48. Adapter, SRC/OPS (2)
49. Cannister, ECS LIOH (2)
50. Urine collection assembly, small (2)
51. Urine collection assembly, large (2)
52. Bag, Emesis (4)
53. Container assembly, Disposal (1)
54. Filter, oxygen bacterial (1)
55. Container, PLSS Condensate (1)
56. Antenna, S-Band (1)
57. Cable,S-Band antenna (1)
58. Bag, Lunar Equipment Transfer (1)
59. Pallet assembly #1(1)
60. Central Station(1)
61. Pallet Assembly #2(1)
62. Primary structure assembly(1)
63. Falcon feather(1) and Hammer(1)
64. Gnomon (Excludes mount) (1)
65. Tripod (1)
66. Handle/cable assembly (cord for tv camera) (1)
67. York mesh packing material (1)
68. SWC bag (extra) (1)
69. Core tube bits (2)
70. SRC seal protectors (2)
71. Environmental sample containers "O" rings (2+)
72. Apollo Lunar Surface Close-up Camera (1)
73. Lunar equipment conveyor (1)
74. ECS canister (1)
75. ESC bracket (1)
76. OPS brackets (2+)
77. Watchbands & gloves (lots)
78. Footprint
79. Extension Handle
80. Stainless steel cover
81. Plastic covering for Flag
82. 8 foot aluminium tube
83. 2+ retaining pins for flag and staff storage
84. Insulating blanket
85. Small aluminum capsule
86, Small piece of lava from Oregon's Devil Lake
87, Three lunar roving vehicles
88, $2 & $20 bills (25+)
89, Ceramic chip with many artists work on it (1)
90, Eugene Shoemaker's ashes in an urn.
91, Bible (1)
92, Family portrait of Charlie Duke
93, TV subsystem, Lunar (1)
94, Left hand side stowage compartment (1)
95, Large Wheelbarrow (1)

It'll be a rather large skip I'd imagine.

Edited by Tickled pink (19 Dec 2018 9.52pm)

What you say is true. The reflectors are obviously more effective.
It is interesting that we do have telescopes in space that could easily look at the lunar surface and see the Apollo landing sights but they haven't done it.

Now I'm sure that there are technical reasons why NASA would not want to bother but given the conspiracy theories, you would think that they might.
The official explanation as to why they haven't sounds like hogwash I have to say.