One giant blunder for mankind: how NASA lost moon pictures

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | August 5, 2006 | Richard Macey

[nnn0jeh]

THE heart-stopping moments when Neil Armstrong took his first tentative steps onto another world are defining images of the 20th century: grainy, fuzzy, unforgettable.

But just 37 years after Apollo 11, it is feared the magnetic tapes that recorded the first moon walk - beamed to the world via three tracking stations, including Parkes's famous "Dish" - have gone missing at NASA's Goddard Space Centre in Maryland.

A desperate search has begun amid concerns the tapes will disintegrate to dust before they can be found.

It is not widely known that the Apollo 11 television broadcast from the moon was a high-quality transmission, far sharper than the blurry version relayed instantly to the world on that July day in 1969.

Among those battling to unscramble the mystery is John Sarkissian, a CSIRO scientist stationed at Parkes for a decade. "We are working on the assumption they still exist," Mr Sarkissian told the Herald.

"Your guess is a good as mine as to where they are."

[oxcart]

IATZ

[Thrusher]

Damn! I was so hoping this was going to turn into a big Moon-landing vs. Moon-hoax throw-down.

Usually these threads blow up faster than kerosene on a candle... or mentioning the word "creationism".

/sarc

[WorkingClassFilth]

I'm guessing that the missing film is the private souvenier of somebody on the taxpayer's gravy train.

[SALChamps03]

I assume that you're being sarcastic? If you truly believe that, then you lack common sense.

[Starter]

Simple. They went at night.

[DoughtyOne]

He wasn't there first. He just invented the space program.

[patriot_wes]

OK.....Where's Sandy Berger?

[Phibes]

My grandfather always said that we NEVER landed on the moon. They just staged this on some rock out west. LOL

[StoneGiant]

OK.....Where's Sandy Berger?

[centexan]

a CSIRO scientist stationed at Parkes for a decade. "We are working on the assumption they still exist," Mr Sarkissian told the Herald.

They made a really good movie about the guys at Parkes, Australia during the moon landing. I think it was called "The Dish".

[RightWhale]

Belief is one thing, true history another. But, they might as well not have sent men to the moon for all the good it has done.

[RightWhale]

That's funny. My grandfather insisted we never launched earth satellites. Even Echo I didn't convince him.

[elli1]

Originally stored at Goddard, the tapes were moved in 1970 to the US National Archives. No one knows why, but in 1984 about 700 boxes of space flight tapes there were returned to Goddard.

[Twinkie]

TAKE TWO!!

[hophead]

"It is not widely known that the Apollo 11 television broadcast from the moon was a high-quality transmission, far sharper than the blurry version relayed instantly to the world on that July day in 1969."

That is a great story. 4 years were spent by some of the best minds around building a tv camera to withstand the rigors of space and landing on the moon. What those engineers forgot to take into account was their camera being compatible with the tv transmission technology of 1969. It turns out the moon camera WAS NOT compatible. Live transmissions could not be transmitted over the airwaves into the homes of those watching. It was ONLY realized as those wonderful pictures were being watched at Mission Control. Live television only received static. One of the REAL smart engineers ran down the hall and grabbed a regular tv camera an tripod and set it up in front of the Mission Control monitor screen. That is what we all saw on that July evening in 1969. A picture of a picture!!!

[hophead]

"I'm guessing that the missing film is the private souvenier of somebody on the taxpayer's gravy train."

I just bid on it on EBAY!

[Scythian]

Well, they better stay off the moon, I bought it from some DOT.COM back in early 2000, I got papers people !!

[RightWhale]

I visited the office at RCA where the camera was cobbled together, right after the moon landing. Talked to some of the engineers.
They were walking a foot off the ground.

[hophead]

"I visited the office at RCA where the camera was cobbled together, right after the moon landing. Talked to some of the engineers."

I understand the camera that took those amazing pictures is still there at Tranquility Base. I wonder if it had new batteries if it would still work?

[RightWhale]

It might work, but nobody would care to use it. Technology from the Dark Dim Ages.