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NASA admits moon landings taped over

Last updated 08:08 17/07/2009
1 of 9 On July 16, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin
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On July 16, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in the mammoth-sized Saturn V rocket on their way to the moon. Cmdr Armstrong and pilot Aldrin landed the spacecraft, Eagle, on the moon's Sea of Tranquility on July 20.

Moon landing video released

Buzz Aldrin on the moon
ONE SMALL STEP: Buzz Aldrin was photographed on the moon by the man who took that first step, Neil Armstrong.

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The original recordings of the first humans landing on the moon 40 years ago were erased and taped over - NASA has admitted.

But, the space agency says, newly restored copies of the original broadcast look even better.

NASA released the first glimpses of a complete digital make-over of the original landing footage that clarifies the blurry and grainy images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon.

The full set of recordings, being cleaned up by Burbank, California-based Lowry Digital, will be released in September.

NASA admitted in 2006 that no one could find the original video recordings of the July 20, 1969, landing.

Since then, Richard Nafzger, an engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, who oversaw television processing at the ground-tracking sites during the Apollo 11 mission, has been looking for them.

The good news is he found where they went. The bad news is they were part of a batch of 200,000 tapes that were degaussed - magnetically erased - and re-used to save money.

"The goal was live TV," Nafzger told a news conference.

"We should have had a historian running around saying 'I don't care if you are ever going to use them - we are going to keep them'," he said.

They found good copies in the archives of CBS news and some recordings called kinescopes found in film vaults at Johnson Space Centre.

Lowry, best known for restoring old Hollywood films, has been digitising these along with some other bits and pieces to make a new rendering of the original landing.

Nafzger does not worry that using a Hollywood-based company might fuel the fire of conspiracy theorists who believe the entire lunar program that landed people on the moon six times between 1969 and 1972 was staged on a movie set or secret military base.

"This company is restoring historic video. It mattered not to me where the company was from," Nafzger said.

"The conspiracy theorists are going to believe what they are going to believe," added Lowry Digital Chief Operating Officer Mike Inchalik.

And there may be some unofficial copies of the original broadcast out there somewhere that were taken from a NASA video switching centre in Sydney, Australia, the space agency said.

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Nafzger said someone else in Sydney made recordings too.

"These tapes are not in the system," Nafzger said. "We are certainly open to finding them."

- Reuters

132 comments
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txgravex1   #132   06:22 am Sep 18 2009

Let me get this straight, they so called lost the first landing on the moon video. Ha!!!! it's one the biggest things in history and all u can say is that u lost it or that it was somehow magnetically erased???? and now they're re-filming, they wouldn't know how to re-film it unless they already falsely knew how to film it in the first place. Coincidence....i think not WTF plus right now believeing in my so-called conspiracy theory (which it isnt) is WAYYYYY better than believeing government spoon fed bullscmhit

sandra   #131   05:19 pm Jul 23 2009

man never walked on the moon, hoax hoax just as aliens and nessy are hoaxies... countries should stop with the hoaxes, its going to tick other countries off so much next comes world war: extinction. i wonder how much armstrong and the rest of them got for there golden payout to swear to secretcy

MR Kiwi   #130   02:25 am Jul 20 2009

so if NASA have all this money why tape over the video? how much does a new tape cost? smells of fish.

@ Paul T - don't worry about the 6 Billion, the fed reserve bank will just make some more money out of thin air and put more debit back on to the state. good ol' american banking at its finest.

Te Kawenata   #129   07:32 am Jul 19 2009

Go watch 'Mythbusters' episode that debunked the conspiracy theories with a simple test of firing a laser on to the lander on the moon. Its readings showed there was a man-made object there... mystery what mystery!!

It is impressive given the tech back then that they made it there and back!

John New   #128   04:45 pm Jul 18 2009

Great read so far, I dont think they went to the moon, no one has explained to me the flag waveing atmosphere thing ???? Please do. Would like to believe in USA getting there but look at there track record and spin doctors over the years. god bless america lol

Bob   #127   12:57 pm Jul 18 2009

I used to fully believe they went to the moon. However doubt has been cast when they: A). They havent been back despite Technology increases. b). The same computing power to get there is now in my Cell Phone C). The Russians didnt bother to go there and they have cheaper labour costs and more powerful rockets, D). 40 years later and they still cant get a man to Mars or any other planet yet...!!!

Daniel   #126   04:02 am Jul 18 2009

Why are you lot even responding to people such as Paul?

I don't think the guy is serious. If he is serious, then just leave him with his ignorance, some people are better off like that.

Mish   #125   03:43 am Jul 18 2009

It disappoints me that there are so many people who truely believe the moon landings are fake. Choosing ignorance is a bad thing for society.

Consipiracy theorists, have you ever looked at the explanations behind all of the little theories? They are about, and they make sense.

CapoeiraNick   #124   01:56 am Jul 18 2009

Actually there is a mirror on the moon. Neil and Buzz put it there and scientists have been using it for 40 years to measure how the moons orbit changes.

The flag waves because it was moving when planted and there is no air resistance to stop it.

The figure is lit by reflection from the moons surface. The shadow on the ground cannot be lit by this reflection (light travels in straight lines) and is therefore very dark.

Keep asking questions this is fun

Everything's faked   #123   12:33 am Jul 18 2009

I don't believe in conspiracy theorists; I only ever read their theories in blogs like this or in crackpot books which anyone could fake...take something say, say it's wrong with some vaguely plausible truths to uninformed individuals, stick to your guns and roll from there.

Just one thing though, why didn't the Russians expose the landing as a fake again? I'm missing that part.


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