Russian official wants to investigate missing film and rocks from the moon landings

In an op-ed published by Russian newspaper Izvestia on Tuesday, Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the government's official Investigative Committee, argued that such an investigation could reveal new insights into the historical space journeys. According to a translation by the Moscow Times, Markin would support an inquiry into the disappearance of original footage from the first moon landing in 1969 and the whereabouts of lunar rock, which was brought back to earth during several missions.


Source : Washington Post

Well it's only about 45 years too late. But the Russkies are now interested in what happened to the original footage and more importantly all that moon rock.

The Moscow times says :

An international investigation could help solve the mystery of the disappearance of film footage from the original moon landing in 1969, or explain where the nearly 400 kilograms of lunar rock reportedly obtained during several such missions between 1969 and 1972 have been spirited away to, Markin suggested.

"We are not contending that they did not fly [to the moon], and simply made a film about it. But all of these scientific — or perhaps cultural — artifacts are part of the legacy of humanity, and their disappearance without a trace is our common loss. An investigation will reveal what happened," Markin wrote.

U.S. space agency NASA admitted in 2009 that the original recordings of the first moon landing had been erased, but said they had managed to remaster the original television broadcast of the landing, Reuters reported at the time.

Of the approximately 380 kilograms of moon rock said to have been obtained during manned U.S. moon landings, the bulk is stored in the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas, though samples can be seen on display in various museums around the world.

Source : Moscow Times

The missing moon rocks story is now old news.

In July 2002 Thad Roberts and three others pulled off perhaps the greatest ever 'inside job' in NASA history at Johnson Space Centre, Houston, Texas stealing moon rocks. And a couple of years ago NASA revealed that almost 200 moon rocks, many gifted to foreign nations, had gone missing....

BBC News

So what are the Russians really up to here?

a reply to: mirageman

Dear Vlad...

Do the world a favor, pop the lid on 9/11.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

You'll have to wait for until 2056 for them to do that at this rate.

Misleading title, the article says nothing about a Russian official claiming the moon landings never happened. Please change the title to reflect the OP data, thanks. (I will call this post "Russians claim no cow jumped over the moon")

What I will not understand is this:

The USA and its Russian counterparts were able to pick up and monitor the transmissions from each other's space programs. So why now are they stating that they want to do an inveistgation? Would they not have stated such back during the cold war and really make a mockery of the USA?

a reply to: sdcigarpig

Please read the OP and quoted sources. There is nothing in it that says any Russian is questioning the moon landings.

a reply to: mirageman

He clearly says that they believe the US went to the moon.

"We are not contending that they did not fly [to the moon], and simply made a film about it. But all of these scientific — or perhaps cultural — artifacts are part of the legacy of humanity, and their disappearance without a trace is our common loss. An investigation will reveal what happened," Markin wrote.

He wants to investigate what happened to the moon rocks and some video. Slight difference there.

originally posted by: Aleister
Misleading title, the article says nothing about a Russian official claiming the moon landings never happened. Please change the title to reflect the OP data, thanks. (I will call this post "Russians claim no cow jumped over the moon")

Well I agree with you actually. So I'll tweak it for you.

But your comments should be passed on to the Washington Post. All I did was copy their own headline.



W ashington Post

They are the ones who used the headline.

a reply to: mirageman

Then my apologies, and thanks. What, did the Washington Post fire all their older copy editors and hire some kids out of high school? An odd thing to happen at such a well-regarded newspaper (maybe change it further to reflect the actual article data, that way you'd be ahead of the Post in Journalism 101).

a reply to: mirageman

So what are the Russians really up to here?

i think it's less about what happened to the rocks and film - probably just trying to annoy the us by suggesting that it's their job (the russians) to keep an eye on these sort of things - and to undermine the us a little bit maybe

a reply to: Aleister

Oh it's no problem at all. It is a misleading headline. Due to the character limit it's a bit difficult to change that headline and I'm still rethinking what it should say. So it may change again.

I would have thought better of the Washington post myself to be honest. But it looks like it's from a blogger rather than a professional journalist.

Probably a silly season story but there are a number of other sources. Plus that moon rock really has gone missing.

a reply to: mirageman

Vlad needs to read the most comprehensive break-down in the history of all things Moon landing to ever exist, it covers every single aspect of missing rocks, tapes, whether we went, whether we went earlier that televised, and everything in between..........

401 pages of yes we did go to the moon, no we did not go to the moon

But wait, there's more....

a further 66 pages (and counting) of yes we did go to the moon, no we did not go to the moon

The moon and NASA's love/hate relationship with her, will keep us tinfoilers entertained until the cows come home. Even after those 467 pages, I am still in doubt as to whether what was shown was our first time up there and whether we have set up a base up there and what it on the dark side.

If Russia is so hot for Moon rocks why don't they go and get them?
According to their supporter s here their economy and technology is the best in the world.

a reply to: TDawg61

I think it's all a knee-jerk reaction to Ukraine and then the FIFA scandal that could see them lose the 2018 'Soccer' World Cup. The Anglo alliance have really annoyed them over that one.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: mirageman

Dear Vlad...

Do the world a favor, pop the lid on 9/11.

Yes please!

a reply to: mirageman I think we did and on the moon. Oddly, my grandmother (may the goddess rest her soul), who never had a conspiracy theory bone in her body...often said she thought the moon landing was fake.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

* whispers* and Roswell.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
What I will not understand is this:

The USA and its Russian counterparts were able to pick up and monitor the transmissions from each other's space programs. So why now are they stating that they want to do an inveistgation? Would they not have stated such back during the cold war and really make a mockery of the USA?

You don't see a pattern developing? Putin will/may release info about "insider" aspects of 9/11 and now questioning in a round about way the Moon landings? I believe that many on ATS are too young to recall the old days of the cold war when Russian had no trouble talking up BS at every turn.

a reply to: Aleister

What, did the Washington Post fire all their older copy editors and hire some kids out of high school?

It's not actually Washington Post content. World Views is their foreign correspondents' blog.

a reply to: mirageman

Well...if the Russians claimed that they want to investigate if moon landings are fake...any investigator would get a punch in the nose..while if you investigate dissapearnce of film...you might get some cooperation.

If you want to investigate a conspiracy...last thing you should say that you are investigating it.