STUDENTS in St Albans have been set the task of debunking disbelievers who argue there were no moon landings.

Pupils at Verulam School in Brampton Road have been studying samples of moon rock collected during the Apollo space missions at close quarters as well as exploring the wealth of Internet information about the Apollo landings.

But science teacher Paul Hall, responsible for bringing the moon rock to Verulam, said he was horrified to discover a number of websites are devoted to the myth that man has never landed on the moon.

So he set his students the unusual task of debunking the myth, by examining some of the 32,000 still photographs taken on the missions.

Mr Hall said: "Many of the points made in the hoax websites are attributable to a lack of understanding of the science involved.

"For example, many of them make the point that, since there is no atmosphere on the moon, there can be no clouds, and that stars should have been visible in the lunar sky.

"In fact, no stars are seen in any of the Apollo photographs.

"Another point often made is about shadows. The hoaxers claim that all shadows should be parallel since they stem from a single light source.

"Many of the shadows show non-parallel shadows, that can be explained by effects of perspective and by wide-angle lenses.

"The real proof, however, lies in the rocks which were returned which have been examined by geologists around the world.

"Each type of moon rock is older than its Earth equivalent, exhibits different compositions, contains different isotopes and bears no indication of water.

"Particles of lunar topsoil are larger and more jagged than their Earth equivalents because they have not been weathered by the wind, rain or tide."