Nasa restores moon landing film

[dirtydog]

Nasa restores moon landing film

The US space agency, Nasa, is marking the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which took into space the first astronauts to walk on the moon.

At a news conference, it revealed newly-restored footage of the moon landing, including Neil Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface.

The film was restored by a Hollywood company, which had already spruced up films such as "Citizen Kane".

Other Apollo 11 events include a concert and a free "Moonfest".

Former astronauts are at Cape Canaveral in Florida - from where Apollo 11 took off - and will visit an exhibition about the Apollo missions, which includes a rare collection of space suits.
An exhibition at Cape Canaveral marks the Apollo 11 anniversary

The lunar footage, screened to journalists in Washington, is part of a $230,000 (£140,000) restoration project.

The four selected scenes showed Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin stepping on to the lunar surface, the astronauts putting up a commemorative plaque and the raising of the American flag.

The original footage was filmed by a video camera on the lunar module, in a non-standard format which US television channels could not use. It was beamed back to earth, and then converted into a TV-friendly system.

But this badly degraded the images.

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

So engineer Richard Nafzger and his research team spent three years searching for copies worldwide. He found footage in Australia and at the CBS television studios in Houston, as well as reels of tape in Nasa's own huge archive vaults, which had not been viewed for 36 years.

The Hollywood company, Lowry Digital, is restoring two-and-a-half hours of the material. Nasa expects to release the full version in September.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Nasa restores moon landing film

[Butterfly]

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

oh oh, that's going to be a new interesting twist for conspiracy theorists

[dirtydog]

India Moon probe 'malfunctions'

Chandrayaan will compile a 3-D atlas of the Moon

India's first mission to the Moon has experienced a technical problem, India's space research officials say.

A sensor of the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has "malfunctioned" and steps have been taken to ensure it is able to continue its work, they say.

But the possibility remains that the mission may have to be cut short.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched last October and is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

Scientists belonging to the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said that the "vital star sensor" of the spacecraft had "malfunctioned".

"The mission is safe, but its lifespan may be affected," Isro spokesman S Satish told the BBC.

For the moment the spacecraft has been placed on a higher orbit, but officials say this could affect the quality of the photographs being sent back.

The unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched into space from southern Andhra Pradesh state.
CHANDRAYAAN 1

1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA)
2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP)
3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)
4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)
5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)
7 - Solar Panel



India sets its sights on the Moon
In Pictures: India Moon mission

The spacecraft is on a two-year mission of exploration.
The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

"We have already got useful information from the pictures beamed," said an Isro official.

But he said the "quality of the pictures" had been affected because of the malfunction.

Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 watts, the Isro probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six constructed in other countries, including the US, Britain and Germany.

The mission is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m), considerably less than Japanese and Chinese probes sent to the Moon last year.

But the Indian government's space efforts have not been welcomed by all.

Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | India Moon probe 'malfunctions'

[dirtydog]

[tjyflhol]

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

oh oh, that's going to be a new interesting twist for conspiracy theorists

Give it another 100 yrs and the vids will show them landing in the USS Enterprise.

On a serious note, how short of space can you be that the original footage of such a historic moment was deleted? You'd think it would be safeguarded for posterity.

[dirtydog]

Lets hope they blur out the faces of the little green aliens, don't want them getting angry.

[Smithson]

Saw an episode of the Brit science show Horizon. There's a guy in the states that started selling land on the moon, heaps has been sold and he's made millions, even though he has no rights to sell. Here's a paste from the BBC site:

After 40 years, man is preparing to return to the Moon. But this time the astronauts won't just land on the Moon - they plan to stay.
From his office in Nevada, Dennis Hope has spawned a multi-million dollar business selling lunar real estate.
But scientists believe the real prize is trapped in the Moon's rocks. It contains large deposits of an extremely rare gas called Helium-3. Could Helium-3 be mined and used as a new source of almost inexhaustible, clean and pollution-free energy on Earth? Whoever succeeds in transporting Helium-3 back to Earth could solve the world's energy crisis.
Who will win what has been dubbed the second Moon race? And should we be exploiting the Moon's valuable resources at all?

[tjyflhol]

I can see DrivingForce coming up with a new business plan very soon...

[Bung]

India Moon probe 'malfunctions'

That'll teach them for getting Tata to build it, should have used parts from an Ambassador, would have gone forever!

[dirtydog]

[The Gentleman Scamp]

should we be exploiting

Yes - it's what we do... It's like asking, 'should a cat be killing mice?'

[BobR]

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

oh oh, that's going to be a new interesting twist for conspiracy theorists

More and more, the Government's version of many events, not just the alleged moon landing, sounds just as bizarre as what the conspiracy theorists are saying.

[dirtydog]

I,m pretty sure the tape shortage was real, it was early 70's and everything went to a new format, a friend of mine bought all the old unused stock from around the world, he then put it back on the market in the UK, he then retired to Spain then Thailand.

[Johnny Longprong]

Wasn't there a story that the whole thing was fabricated and the "landing" was in a film studio in California?

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

"Oh shit, we have run out of tapes, let's record over these ones of the most significant event of the 20th century".

[barbaro]

I remember the moon conspiracy thread.

[FlyFree]

Wasn't there a story that the whole thing was fabricated and the "landing" was in a film studio in California?

The space agency says it probably deleted the original footage in the 1970s and 80s, when it had a tape shortage and needed to reuse them.

"Oh shit, we have run out of tapes, let's record over these ones of the most significant event of the 20th century".

I was watching the BBC World news report, I think it was yesterday, or the day before, and they reported that NASA stated it had to re-use these tapes because of budget cuts or constraints. I am sure of this, as I noted it well because it seemed such an incredibly bizarre statement. I mean, how deep are these cuts that you have to erase the only original footage available of one of the most significant events in human history, let alone the 20th century.

I'm sure if it was so bad, they could have found a buyer at a nice fat price. Strange. Even stranger that this report is now different on the BBC website...................



Maybe they'll come for me now......


Or maybe they will. They own them don't they? Or do they ?

[Butterfly]

I can see DrivingForce coming up with a new business plan very soon...

what make you think he didn't already back then

[Nietzsche]

should we be exploiting the Moon's valuable resources at all?

It's a certain someone will start peddling a 'save the moon' campaign, similar to the climate change racket, if we started milking the moon for it's resources.