Former special effects gurus-turned reality stars, the MythBusters took on their biggest challenge yet for last night’s episode: the famed moon landing. For decades (specifically since 1969) people have persisted in believing the whole thing was a hoax.

Was it?

According to the episode’s opening dialogue, 20% of Americans to this day (well, perhaps not this day - but let’s say a week ago) persist in believing the well-publicized moon landing was actually faked. Many of what the show calls “conspiracy theorists” point to various evidence and say the entire thing was filmed not on the surface of the moon, but on a Hollywood set.

Some may scoff at this idea, but in a way it’s not farfetched. After all, hasn’t Hollywood faked everything from space invasions to true love? Really, is one little moon landing so hard to re-create?

I’m not one to immediately discount any theory - no matter how farfetched it may seem. Whatever the idea, stranger things have probably happened. I don’t necessarily believe or disbelieve any “conspiracy theory” - I’m willing to view the evidence for either side.

Thankfully, so are the MythBusters. The show has been airing on the Discovery Channel since 2002, exploring everything from movie myths (they’ve done more than one James Bond special) to old wives’ tales. The team is led by Adam and Jamie, who worked together for several years in the special effects field before using their skills in a whole new way - examining myths. Kari, Tory and Grant make up the second team, who usually work independently of the pair.

Since it would be impossible to go over all the evidence used by anti-moonsters, the MythBusters focused on the most popular evidence used in the hoax theory.

The first claim examined was mis-matched moon shadows. One famous picture of the moon’s surface shows the shadows of two different objects lining up differently - non-parallel to each other. On any flat surface with a single light source (in the moon’s case, the sun), the shadows of every object will all point in the same direction on the same angel. The moon’s surface, however, isn’t exactly flat. After building a scale model and creating a textured, moon-like surface, Adam and Jamie easily re-created the famous photo - using a single source of light.

One myth busted.

The second claim was taken on by Kari, Tory and Grant - Aldrin’s famous footprints. One photo of the landing shows a very clear, very detailed moon boot print on the surface of the moon. After traveling to a vacuum-creating chamber and using a real moon boot with man-made lunar dust, the team was able to discern in only one run that a clearly delineated print could easily be achieved on the moon - even without moisture to hold the sandy particles together.

Two myths busted.

Kari, Tory and Grant used the same airless vacuum chamber to test one of the biggest pieces of the hoax theory - a waving flag. Theorists point to the fact that there is no wind on the moon, and show off footage of a clearly moving flag. After creating an exact replica of the moon flag, the team used a mechanical arm to manipulate the banner. Inside the vacuum, after being moved around in a fashion similar to the movements of the astronauts, the flag flowed easily against the frictionless air space. On the moon, after being handled by human hands (even in space gloves), the flag is actually more likely to wag about - there’s no resistance against it.

Three myths busted.

Adam and Jamie then turned their attention to the movements of the astronauts on the moon. Theorists pose that the hops, skips and side-to-side run of the men could easily be mimicked by changing camera frame speeds. The pair tested this film technique as well as others, even rigging Adam up in a harness to help him achieve a weight that would be equal to one-sixth of the Earth’s gravity (and thus, the gravity of the moon). Then, they both experienced the real thing, taking a special plane ride in space suits to feel the moon’s gravity firsthand. Only inside this vehicle could the two accurately re-create the movements shown in the moon footage.

Four myths busted.

To drive their point home, Adam and Jamie visited a special space observatory housing one of the world’s most powerful lasers (about 100 billion times more powerful than standard, hand-held laser pointers). During the moon mission, the astronauts planted “several” retro reflectors on the surface of the moon. These prismatic mirrors will reflect a beam of light, sending a signal right back to the source. This allows scientists on Earth to collect information directly from the moon itself. The MythBusters sent up a signal, hit a reflector, and watched the information bounce back - proof positive that someone, someday really put prismatic reflectors right there on the far-away surface of the moon.

And so, another hoax has been banished by those who do it best: the MythBusters. New episodes are currently airing weekly on Wednesdays, 9pm ET. Next on the busting agenda: Internet videos.