Posts: 225
From: Lake Orion, Michigan
Registered: Feb 2006

Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 10-15-2014 11:23 AM            

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A 16mm (DAC) camera on the MESA would have produced some great footage of Armstrong descending the ladder and stepping onto the surface.

Would that have been possible on Apollo 11? Something like the DAC that was placed on the Apollo 14 MESA to film the flag deploy.

Posts: 396
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Jan 2012

posted 10-26-2014 09:07 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by LM-12:
Would that have been possible on Apollo 11?

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Someone would have to press the shutter button on the DAC in order for the camera to start filming. Having said that, I'm sure they could have somehow rigged up a remote triggering device had they wanted to, or thought about, filming Armstrong's first steps on the moon from outside the LM.

Something they definitely could have done was to mount a Hasselblad on the MESA to shoot a photo every 2 or 3 seconds. It could have been activated automatically when the MESA came down. With a 250 shot magazine, it would have given us a nice photographic record of man's first 8 minutes on the moon. Then we wouldn't be talking about the lack of any Armstrong on the lunar surface photos.

I think its fair to say that most, if not all, of us would have preferred more hi-res photographic record of the moment. However, I'm more than excited about the next "giant leap" on the moon and the amazing TV, video and still images we'll have for that one. It'll almost be like we're there. If they design the lunar suits like the Shuttle/ISS suits, we'll have a TV camera and digital still camera on each side of each astronaut's helmet. Best of all, the images will be transmitted to earth instantaneously. Imagine not waiting a month for Life Magazine to come out so we can see the handful of photos from each mission.

Posts: 3324
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 11-21-2014 04:00 PM            

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quote:

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Originally posted by Blackarrow:
The flight plan contained no similar requirement for Aldrin to photograph Armstrong during the period when Aldrin had the camera.

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For what it's worth, a pre-flight NASA news release (July 3, 1969) has this:

Armstrong will erect the flag as Aldrin photographs the event.