American Alchemy with Jesse Michels

Proof That NASA Censored Moon Photos (and The Astronauts Knew!)

76 snips
Jul 20, 2026
Guest
Maaneli “Max” Derakhshani
Maaneli “Max” Derakhshani, a theoretical physicist who studies lunar and Mars imagery anomalies. He discusses discovered redactions in Apollo photos and intriguing blue lights in lunar frames. Conversations probe archival inconsistencies, possible withheld DOD–NASA findings, astronaut silence, and mysterious structures and heat anomalies on the Moon and Mars.
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INSIGHT

Clementine Was A Covert Reconnaissance Mission

  • Clementine was a joint DOD–NASA mission publicly billed as science but, per John Brandenburg, secretly photographed the lunar surface to check for unknown bases.
  • The Space Act and Brookings Report legally allow withholding discoveries that threaten national security, explaining potential secrecy around lunar findings.
INSIGHT

Apollo 17 Frames Contain Solid Blue Objects Not Explained By Rays

  • Max found multiple Apollo 17 surface photos showing bluish metallic streaks and clustered blue lights in the lunar sky that brighten a central region when exposure is increased.
  • He argues cosmic rays or lens flare don't match the morphology, and NASA flagged one frame for special investigation.
ANECDOTE

Ken Johnston Says Negatives Were Ordered Destroyed

  • Ken Johnston claims he was ordered to destroy early-generation Apollo negatives because they contained anomalies, but he saved copies and published some online.
  • Comparing Johnson's copies to NASA's March to the Moon archive shows frames where objects appear in one scan and are blacked out in another.
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