LRO zooms in on Apollo 15 once again. Amazing Detail

NASA decided to lower the mapping orbit from its usual 50 km (30 miles) down to an incredible 25 km (15 miles) — an orbit they can’t sustain, since variations in the density of the Moon would soon crash the spacecraft. But for those short periods, they got amazing images of the Apollo landing sites, including this stunner from Apollo 15:

blogs.discovermagazine.com...

It's pretty hard for moon landing conspiracy folks to argue with these photos. Well, of course unless you're going to say that these photos were staged as well. From my point of view these photos show in amazing clarity the events that took place on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission. You can clearly see the sets of tracks that were made in the dust and the descent stage still sitting right there. Pretty cool stuff IMHO.

For years I have been wondering why no one would or could

zoom in on the moon and get pics of the landing sites....about time.

Thanks!

Isn't that just amazing!
I hope they get a close up of the tower and the domed city with the bridge as well
SNF!

Some pretty cool pixel blobs.

Originally posted by Violater1
Isn't that just amazing!
I hope they get a close up of the tower and the domed city with the bridge as well

SNF!

Truth! The tower is one of the biggest mysteries of the moon, I really hope they get some more info soon.

reply to post by dbates


Wow, have you zoomed those little spots in?
When I do there is nothing worthwhile seeing.
Can you show some detail?

reply to post by dbates


First of all, I don't know anything about anything about the moon hoax theories or the space program, especially compared to many of you here on ATS. I just saw this post and want to know if anyone else thinks those tracks are kind of... GIGANTIC?? How big was that buggy and/or how small are those craters? I mean, they look pretty big from down here with my naked eye...

Also, if you have been on the fence about whether or not the moon landings were real, why would your mind be swayed to believe that it happened because of photos released by the very agency that you believe may have lied in the first place?

I mean... if I was posting on a conspiracy theory message board, I would simply say: Seems like NASA is covering its tracks.

reply to post by longjohnbritches

There's a slightly larger picture in the source article. You're not going to see individual footprints from 15 miles away but you can see the tracks in the moon dust pretty well.

Originally posted by longjohnbritches
reply to post by dbates

 

Wow, have you zoomed those little spots in?
When I do there is nothing worthwhile seeing.
Can you show some detail?

For you and Ixtab the whole point is that the images match what was documented and photographed by the astronauts ie the objects in the picture are at the locations they should be.

This is an LRO pic of the Apollo 17 site next to the same location taken as the astronauts left the moon using the astronauts DAC camera. First posted by jra.



The tracks on the surface made by the astronauts match.

Originally posted by Hope4TheBest
reply to post by dbates

 

First of all, I don't know anything about anything about the moon hoax theories or the space program, especially compared to many of you here on ATS. I just saw this post and want to know if anyone else thinks those tracks are kind of... GIGANTIC?? How big was that buggy and/or how small are those craters? I mean, they look pretty big from down here with my naked eye...

As pointed out, the tracks perfectly match the images of the tracks taken by astronauts during Apollo.

Also, if you have been on the fence about whether or not the moon landings were real, why would your mind be swayed to believe that it happened because of photos released by the very agency that you believe may have lied in the first place?

Actually the photos are not released by NASA. The photos are released by Arizona State University. Now, if someone wants to claim that the images are being somehow edited or faked (amazingly perfect "fakes" by the way), it's up to them to prove that. Here's a spreadsheet showing the frequencies various space probes are operating on:
www.uhf-satcom.com...
LRO's Ka band is where the NAC images come from. If someone wants to claim these images are faked, it's up to them to show that by listening in to the Ka band transmissions and show that the "real" data is different from that which was presented.

reply to post by ngchunter


Since everyone seems so blunt in asking for proof and whatnot.
What about the fact that if man could travel to the moon for the last 40 years,couldn't someone have just recently put those tracks there for the cameras prior to the LRO missions? Why couldn't robots make those tracks also.
There are lots of NASA robots in space.

Great photos and post. It is so frustrating to listen to people claim we never went there. I have always been a fan of the space program, these days it does not get much respect, but it was a time to remember. I watched them driving around making those tracks.

Originally posted by longjohnbritches
reply to post by ngchunter

 

Since everyone seems so blunt in asking for proof and whatnot.
What about the fact that if man could travel to the moon for the last 40 years,couldn't someone have just recently put those tracks there for the cameras prior to the LRO missions? Why couldn't robots make those tracks also.
There are lots of NASA robots in space.

Eh? You am talking funny man.

Anyway, regardless of what the naysayers say when they say nay, when they are asked about the oldest still working experiment on the moon..the laser reflectors, they don't say nay, they say nothing.
Anyway, I hope this shuts up that Australian feller with the long thread.


BTW, welcome!

That looks nothing like the Apollo 15 landing site. Purported video from the mission does not show craters that close and all around the LLM.

Amazing...the recent Apollo 11 shot is stunning too. Imagine Buzz looking out at that magnificent desolation. Makes me want to cry tears of pride and joy.

reply to post by sprtpilot


Sorry, but you are mistaken:

That looks nothing like the Apollo 15 landing site. Purported video from the mission does not show craters that close and all around the LLM.

Go here.

Also, this video of the Apollo 15 DAC (Data Acquisition Camera) mounted in the LM window. It is looking generally West, and down, from that perspective. (The Sun is behind "us").....remember that the landings were all timed to occur during the Lunar "morning" so that the Astronauts had the Sun at their back. This was chosen for two reason:

The surface had not had many days of direct sunlight to heat up to any degree, and the low elevation of the Sun over the horizon gave a better sense of depth perception, due to the shadows. For pilots, that depth perception is essential, and especially in an alien environment where there are no familiar references to use for a sense of scale.



Freeze-frame @0:37

The LM descent stage can be seen, and also near top of frame, the ALSEP....compare to the photo in the OP. See the patterns of the disturbed Lunar regolith.

Look at that little crater about half-way between the LM and the ALSEP. Look at that u-shaped footpath to the South of that same little crater.

The images match perfectly (once any distortion due to differing angles of view are considered).


The "Moon Landing Hoax" nonsense is done, and dead. Finally!!

reply to post by dbates

Still cant exactly blame people for thinking moon landing was a hoax with all the tampering NASA has done with their footage and photos.

Personally i think we visited the moon, but there is still something really fishy going on with all the tampering.

The only thing these picture do for me is boost my respect for *everyone* involved in the Apollo program. Thanks. S&F.

reply to post by juleol


Actually, there is no evidence for "tampering".

What has been called "tampering" was done by others than NASA, for aesthetic purposes and for re-printing of many images....sometimes it's just to make it fit in a particular application for publishing, or it is to "stitch" together images, such as blending several individual photos into one wide panorama, for example.

The originals can still be researched at the sources. Those who claim otherwise are either fooled by previous "hoax" claimants, or are responsible for perpetuating the "hoax" claims themselves.