Apollo 18 was a box office disappointment ($25 million on a $5 million budget), but it became a cult classic for one reason: it weaponized existing NASA lore. The conspiracy theorists had already been laying the groundwork for decades.
Note: Some earlier planning rosters had included astronauts like Fred Haise (Apollo 13) and William R. Pogue, but by mid-1970, the Gordon-Brand-Schmitt crew was the official lineup. Apollo 18
: NASA was minimally involved and eventually distanced itself from the project to avoid public confusion, explicitly stating, "Apollo 18 is not a documentary". Apollo 18 was a box office disappointment ($25
The Vietnam War was draining the U.S. Treasury. President Richard Nixon, eager to trim federal spending, looked at NASA’s soaring costs and diminishing public interest. After Apollo 11, the world had stopped watching. The third Moon landing was barely front-page news; the fourth was a footnote. Pogue, but by mid-1970, the Gordon-Brand-Schmitt crew was
So ironically, the man who would have flown Apollo 18 walk on the Moon—on Apollo 17 instead. There is no missing geologist.