Rogozin, the former head of the Russian space agency said: The doubt arose in his mind whether the Americans had really landed on the surface of the moon or not.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of the Russian space agency "Roscosmos" said in a post on his Telegram channel that about 10 years ago when he was still working in the Russian government, he had personal questions about the truth of this story. It arose in his mind and when he compared the tiredness of the astronauts of the former Soviet Union when they returned from their flights with the fresh and energetic appearance of the American Apollo 11 astronauts, the doubt arose in his mind whether the Americans had really landed on the surface of the moon or not.

He added that at that time he asked the space agency "Roscosmos" to send him the relevant documents. All he received in response was a book containing Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov's account of how he spoke to American astronauts and that they had told him they had landed on the moon.

Rogozin continued his efforts in this regard when he was appointed as the head of the space agency "Roscosmos" in 2018. However, no documents were presented to him. Instead, several anonymous academics angrily criticized him for undermining "sacred partnerships with NASA."

He also said he received an "unpleasant phone call from a high-ranking official" who apparently accused him of damaging international relations.

At the end of his post, Rogozin said that he still can't believe that the US was able to walk on the moon back then, but now, despite significant advances in technology compared to the late 1960s, it is unable to land on the surface of the moon and walk on it.

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to the moon, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged last April to restart Russia's lunar program.