IanProof That Man Landed On The Moon
September 30th 2009 02:39
NASA's newly launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped images of hardware left on the moon by the Apollo astronauts, finally putting an end to conspiracy theories about the landings being faked.
Images of five of the six Apollo landing sites were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) within weeks of reaching the moon. These images and information sourced from New Scientist here.
The lunar module Eagle, which was used to carry Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin down to the lunar surface on 20 July 1969 is clearly seen in the image on the left. When LRO settles into its final orbit later this year, it will deliver images that are at least twice as sharp as this one.
The lunar module Falcon from the Apollo 15 mission is visible in the image on the right. Apollo 15 astronauts, who reached the moon on 30 July 1971, were the first to use a lunar rover to explore the surface.
This image of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin in front of the lunar module Eagle provides a sense of scale to interpret the LRO images taken from orbit. The lunar module is about 4 metres wide.
A footpath connects the Apollo 14 landing site to an experiments package that the crew members set up. The experiments station, which transmitted data back to Earth for years after the mission, boasts a reflector that can be used for laser-ranging measurements of the Earth-moon distance.
Good lighting conditions made the 1971 Apollo 14 site particularly easy to spot, says Mark Robinson, who heads up the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team at Arizona State University in Tempe.
Well-worn tracks can be seen in the soil to the left of the lunar module Antares (arrow).
Images of five of the six Apollo landing sites were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) within weeks of reaching the moon. These images and information sourced from New Scientist here.
The lunar module Falcon from the Apollo 15 mission is visible in the image on the right. Apollo 15 astronauts, who reached the moon on 30 July 1971, were the first to use a lunar rover to explore the surface.
Well-worn tracks can be seen in the soil to the left of the lunar module Antares (arrow).
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