Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

[Siggie]

This isn't quite "news"... so I'm putting it here.

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Jon Donni of Bad Psychics has posted footage footage of Neil Armstrong’s first step on the Moon on the site TV is Cool. It comes from the 16 mm Data Acquisition Camera mounted in the lunar module. The camera had multiple settings; it was set to normal speed for this occasion, and was later set to one frame per second to save film for later footage, including Buzz and Neil setting up the American flag.
The sequence of events shown is fascinating. You can hear Neil say he is opening the MESA, the Modular Equipment Storage Assembly. The movie camera that took the footage of his actual first step on the Moon was in there (some Moon Hoax twinkies love to ask who took the movie of Neil’s step, never bothering to, y’know, look it up. I guess typing stuff into Google is too hard for them). It was aimed at the bottom of the ladder, so Neil would be in its field of view when he walked off the footpad.

Next, he takes a hop from the lowest rung down to the footpad. He then hops back up to the last rung, to make sure he can get back off the pad. If he had trouble, he could talk to Houston and work out what to do.

He then observes the surface, noting the dust. He tested it a bit with the toe of his boot to get a better look at it.

Then, of course, he makes the most momentous step in history, separating us from a planet-bound species to one that strides across worlds.

The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal has a QuickTime clip that has both the MESA and DAC cameras with the footage synchronized, which is fascinating to watch. You can see when he deploys the MESA, which happens at around the same time he jumps down and back up from the footpad. After that, well, you know the rest.

[jgk3]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

One claim of the consipiracy theorists is that the Russians, having already been leading in the space race, deemed landing on the moon too dangerous, is this true?

They also wondered why we never sent humans there again.

[Federate]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

I know it's still a huge achievement that we'll probably never even come close to but I've always felt bad for Buzz Aldrin. He'll forever be known as the second man to have walked on the moon, always in the shadow of Neil. He should've pushed Neil and jumped to get those first steps

[yerazhishda]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

Now the real question is who will be the first man to walk on Jupiter?!

Oh...wait....nevermind...

[Eddo211]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

I think it is very important to place a scientific outpost and a complete launch assembly infrastructure (due to low gravity of moon launching spaceships will be much easier) on our moon which can be used as a platform for deep space exploration.
The moons of Jupiter contain enormous amount of resources that can be utilized while giant cargo ships can deliver it to earths atmosphere. Water which is plentiful even on Mars can be used as fuel.

[Siggie]

The moon landing was fake. Didn't you guys get the memo?

One claim of the conspiracy theorists is that the Russians, having already been leading in the space race, deemed landing on the moon too dangerous, is this true?

They also wondered why we never sent humans there again.

Why would we send humans there again? They've already brought samples. What more is there to accomplish by going there?

As for the Russian's saying it was too dangerous, I'll have to check on that. What comes to mind is when did they say that? Perhaps before the advancement of technologies that brought the risk down to more acceptable levels. I will see what I can find regarding this, but I don't see the importance. So what if they had said it was too dangerous?

[Siggie]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

Okay Jgk, for you sir...
Phil is referring here to the claims in a program that aired on Fox in 2001 called "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?"
He addressed many of them, but this is the one that seems relevant to your comments about the Russians deeming it too dangerous.

A big staple of the [Hoax Believers] is the claim that radiation in the van Allen Belts and in deep space would have killed the astronauts in minutes. They interview a Russian cosmonaut involved in the USSR Moon program, who says that they were worried about going in to the unknowns of space, and suspected that radiation would have penetrated the hull of the spacecraft.

Kaysing's exact words in the program are ``Any human being traveling through the van Allen belt would have been rendered either extremely ill or actually killed by the radiation within a short time thereof.''

This is complete and utter nonsense. The van Allen belts are regions above the Earth's surface where the Earth's magnetic field has trapped particles of the solar wind. An unprotected man would indeed get a lethal dose of radiation, if he stayed there long enough. Actually, the spaceship traveled through the belts pretty quickly, getting past them in an hour or so. There simply wasn't enough time to get a lethal dose, and, as a matter of fact, the metal hull of the spaceship did indeed block most of the radiation. For a detailed explanation of all this, my fellow Mad Scientist William Wheaton has a page with the technical data about the doses received by the astronauts. Another excellent page about this, that also gives a history of NASA radiation testing, is from the Biomedical Results of Apollo site. An interesting read!

It was also disingenuous of the program to quote the Russian cosmonaut as well. Of course they were worried about radiation before men had gone into the van Allen belts! But tests done by NASA showed that it was possible to not only survive such a passage, but to not even get harmed much by it. It looks to me like another case of convenient editing by the producers of the program.

[Eddo211]

Re: Real Time Video of First Step(s) on Moon

NASA has plans to return to the moon. I support this.

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/index.html