Man on the moon ... God knows I love a good conspiracy theory. JFK? A total mob hit. Aliens in the desert? Duh, of course they landed there.

NASA, however, doesn't seem to think they're all that amusing. From DefenseTech:

If you believe they put a man on the Moon . . .

. . . or even (especially?) if you don't, this one's for you.

In 2008, NASA says it will send a "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter" into low orbit around the Moon. While it's primary mission will be to scout for the next manned lunar mission (ostensibly planned for around 2020), it also will do something to defeat those wacky conspiracy theories about how and why the United Stats allegedly faked its Moon missions.

It's going to photograph what astronauts left on the Moon, "providing the first recognizable images of Apollo relics since 1972," NASA says.

There are six landing sites scattered across the Moon's surface, but even the Hubble telescope can't photograph them.

Apparently, NASA says, the fact that they haven't been photographed since the Nixon administration adds fuel to the conspiracy theory fires.

Good lord. I guess I can see where NASA is coming from -- if you spent your life working on this stuff, all the conspiracy theories probably would get under your skin.

But still. So long as the proof is coming from NASA, can't it just be discredited with the same arguments that the landings themselves were?

And besides, isn't it kind of fun having the conspiracy theorists around? Doesn't the lunacy of their arguments just belie what an extraordinary accomplishment the landings were?

So I'm with the conspiracy guys on this one ... I mean, if NASA is trying to disprove the conspiracy, then it clearly takes the conspiracy claims seriously ... which means maybe it has something to hide ...