Strange Lunar Footprints

Now that you're here let me show you something I found interesting in a NASA lunar photo, AS14-66-9079. I cropped it slightly to closeup onthe footprints. Of course, they're astronauts' footprints during one of the Apollo lunar flights. And that's one of the Lander's legs. Look at the short row of footprints. They don't look normal, one foot in front of the other. So it looks like an astronaut walked towards or away to or from the area. You don't see the footprints disappear in the distance, they seem to just start and end without disappearing in the distance since the left side doesn't show footprints so if the person walked to the left edge they took a real wide step or leaped!

Additionally, the pattern of the footprints is one of shuffling either to the left of to the right. Have you seen any lunar videos in which you see an astronaut on the moon shuffling either left or right? Even joking? Post it.

I have provided a screen capture but the photo can be better appreciated if you see it bigger so go here:
history.nasa.gov...

maybe that's where they go to pee.

a reply to: Uggielicious
I'm not really sure but I think the footprints keep going round the lander, you can see the ground disturbance but the image is hiding the prints further round. They could have sidestepped around hence the single file placement?

Not sure but the moon images have always fascinated me

October

As "October" mentioned in the post above, I think they are footprints from the astronaut facing the LM, and then "sidestepping".

Here is another similar image, this one showing other "normal" footprints to the left of the ones in question:

Link to Larger Image

I think the astronaut was facing the LM to take this close-up picture of the LM engine bell:

Link to Larger Image

He also took a few other close-up pictures of the LM (facing the LM) at about the same time, which is probably why we see the "sidestep" footprints (he moved to his side a bit for each image):

Link to Image
Link to Image
Link to Image

Could it be possible the area the footprints end at is where the lunar rover was located?

If there is snow on the ground on Earth, I will leave footprints from the area I first stepped in up to my vehicle. Once in the vehicle and I leave, my footprints end.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People
Going by the numbers of those images (9268 etc) weren't they taken after the one in the OP?

I wonder if the 16mm or video footage might have captured the movement that caused them? I haven't got time to look now but the footage is on the Surface Journal pages if anyone wants to track it down...

Watching videos of astronauts wearing space suits, it looks to me like they would find it almost impossible to place one foot in front of the other one? Seems to be just too much bulk in the leg part of the suit? Plus balance?

originally posted by: Rob48
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People
Going by the numbers of those images (9268 etc) weren't they taken after the one in the OP?

I wonder if the 16mm or video footage might have captured the movement that caused them? I haven't got time to look now but the footage is on the Surface Journal pages if anyone wants to track it down...

The OP's image is image number 9279 (full designation: AS14-66-9279).

The first one I posted (the one similar to the OP's, but panned to the left a little) was 9278, which was taken immediately before the image in the OP. The other images I posted showing the close-up of the engine bell were also taken before the image in the OP, and before the first image I posted (images 9265, 9266, 9267, and 9268).

My understanding was the astronauts had a fair amount of difficulty adjusting to the low gravity of the moon, so tried lots of different ways of moving to see what worked best for them. All human evolution in locomotion undone by a lack of gravity.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
Could it be possible the area the footprints end at is where the lunar rover was located?

If there is snow on the ground on Earth, I will leave footprints from the area I first stepped in up to my vehicle. Once in the vehicle and I leave, my footprints end.

Possibly, but you'd see tracks from the rover wouldn't you?

My take is that the astronaut was working around the one leg of the lander, side shuffled so he didn't end up in the depression (crater?), and then hopped normally away from where the camera was.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Ah OK, the OP said 9079.

originally posted by: weirdguy
maybe that's where they go to pee.

That would explain the shuffling too.

a reply to: Xcathdra

The first rover was Apollo 15 - this is Apollo 14

originally posted by: Soylent Green Is People

originally posted by: Rob48
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People
Going by the numbers of those images (9268 etc) weren't they taken after the one in the OP?

I wonder if the 16mm or video footage might have captured the movement that caused them? I haven't got time to look now but the footage is on the Surface Journal pages if anyone wants to track it down...

The OP's image is image number 9279 (full designation: AS14-66-9279).

The first one I posted (the one similar to the OP's, but panned to the left a little) was 9278, which was taken immediately before the image in the OP. The other images I posted showing the close-up of the engine bell were also taken before the image in the OP, and before the first image I posted (images 9265, 9266, 9267, and 9268).

Thanks for correction of the photo number. My mind/finger coordination failed.