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  Apollo 11: What Armstrong and Aldrin Saw

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Author Topic:   Apollo 11: What Armstrong and Aldrin Saw
Robert Pearlman
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Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-17-2019 04:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera video
The only visual record of the historic Apollo 11 landing is from a 16mm time-lapse (6 frames per second) movie camera mounted in Buzz Aldrin's window (right side of Lunar Module Eagle or LM). Due to the small size of the LM windows and the angle at which the movie camera was mounted, what mission commander Neil Armstrong saw as he flew and landed the LM was not recorded.

The LROC team reconstructed the last three minutes of the landing trajectory (latitude, longitude, orientation, velocity, altitude) using landmark navigation and altitude call outs from the voice recording. From this trajectory information, and high resolution LROC NAC images and topography, we simulated what Armstrong saw in those final minutes as he guided the LM down to the surface of the Moon.

As the video begins, Armstrong could see the aim point was on the rocky northeastern flank of West crater (190 meters diameter), causing him to take manual control and fly horizontally, searching for a safe landing spot. At the time, only Armstrong saw the hazard; he was too busy flying the LM to discuss the situation with mission control.

328KF
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posted 07-17-2019 06:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very cool! I assume in the simulated image that it’s the descent stage of Eagle, photographed by LRO, casting a shadow on the surface.

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 07-17-2019 06:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fantastic!

Makes Armstrong and Aldrin's feat seem even more amazing.

Altidude
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posted 07-17-2019 07:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That was perfect timing. Just finished the podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon. It's great seeing the landing after finally understanding the intricacies of what happened.

dsenechal
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posted 07-17-2019 09:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dsenechal   Click Here to Email dsenechal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very cool video!!

Jurg Bolli
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From: Albuquerque, NM
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posted 07-17-2019 11:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very well done.

Cozmosis22
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From: Texas * Earth
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posted 07-21-2019 08:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Nice video.

Now a question about what we saw as Neil jumped down off the Eagle ladder. Seem to recall that the B&W video image was originally upside down? Haven't seen that mentioned during any of the recent 50th anniversary discussions. It was apparently fixed rather quickly and had something to do with the signal from the deep space antenna in Australia.

Jurg Bolli
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From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 07-21-2019 09:32 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
On yesterday's broadcast on NASA TV in real time (+50 years) the initial image was upside down, this was fixed very quickly.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-21-2019 10:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you cue up Apollo 11 in Real Time to the start of the television broadcast, you can hear the backroom discussion leading to the signal being flipped, adding to capcom Bruce McCandless' own observation of the same in his reply to Neil Armstrong.

Cozmosis22
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From: Texas * Earth
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posted 07-21-2019 10:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
TV image of Armstrong on the ladder was inverted only about 7 seconds.

Found a detailed version of the Eagle landing sequence:

oly
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From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

posted 07-21-2019 09:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cozmosis22:
It was apparently fixed rather quickly and had something to do with the signal from the deep space antenna in Australia.
The black and white slow-scan television camera on the Apollo 11 MESA was installed upside down, as can be seen in this image. Armstrong later removed the camera from the MESA and fitted it to a camera tripod right side up, seen in this image.
While the TV camera was upside-down in the MESA, the pictures were also upside-down. When Armstrong removed the camera to plant it on the lunar surface, the pictures would be the right way up again. A simple technique was employed to invert the images during the scan-conversion process on the Earth. This involved modifying the scan-converter by installing a toggle switch on its front panel. The switch was connected to the deflection coils of the Vidicon camera by means of a relay, which then inverted the picture by the simple expedient of reversing the vertical scans. Richard Holl, who was a Bendix Field Engineering Corporation engineer responsible for television ground support, helped design and implement the inverter switch.
Note: the story about the exploding scan converter at the bottom of this source page is an interesting read.

Space Cadet Carl
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From: Lake Orion, Michigan
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 07-22-2019 10:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Space Cadet Carl   Click Here to Email Space Cadet Carl     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I recall before the flight there was some television commentary about the possibility of switching the camera over to the high-resolution 1280 scan line mode for a minute or two. It never happened.

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 07-22-2019 11:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anyone know if Aldrin has seen this LROC video? If so, did he express any thoughts on it?

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