Photo Quality of Apollo Landing Sites

1  2018-07-12 by truthzealot

I was wondering why the Hubble Space Telescope hasn't been used to provide clearer images of the Apollo sites. Then I found that it has to do with limitations in optics [1].

Next, I found that the LRO (Lunar Reconn. Orbiter) is responsible for the current photos we have [1].

  • It orbits some 31 miles above the Moon's surface and was launched in 2009 [2] and its camera has a 100m resolution.
  • Earth imaging satellites such as DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 (also launched in 2009), orbits at over 10 times higher than the LRO (480 miles) [4] and has a resolution of 0.46m, some 217 times clearer (side point, in 2014 WorldView-3 was launched, capable of 0.3m resolution, 333 times clearer than LRO's sensor).
  • Earth's atmosphere is some 62 miles high [3].
  • The Moon practically has no atmosphere [5].
  • The LRO mission is to map the Lunar surface for scientific study [6]. You'd think they're want the camera to provide detailed photos for close examination.

My question is, given the above, why was the LRO equipped with a subpar camera sensor?

Debunking conspiracies is not listed as an LRO objective, but you'd think if the tech were available then it would be used to expel false ideas. It's almost as if the LRO was given a junk camera when better quality equipment was available.

Citations:

[1] https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/how-to-see-all-six-apollo-moon-landing-sites/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldView-2

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_the_Moon

[6] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/overview/index.html

39 comments

The LRO is a NASA project anyway. Not only is it entirely unconvincing and indiscernible, but it would be meaningless anyway since there is no third-party proof of the Apollo moon landings.

Yes shills, I know there’s a Wikipedia article called “third party evidence of the Apollo moon landings.” I laugh at it.

Why wouldn’t another country have called our bluff by now. Russia could have easily done it to save some face during the Cold War. It would have to be an international conspiracy reaching anyone with a high powered telescope.

First of all then why hasn’t any country confirmed our landing? The USSR was ahead of us in every aspect of the “space race” yet still has for some reason declined to be the 2nd nation to plant their flag on the moon.

And no, they wouldn’t have called our bluff because they simply wouldn’t have been believed. Who would have believed them? The US government would have called it communist propaganda.

More likely, they blackmailed us instead. Even more likely still, they are participants in the space hoax and always have been. Sputnik was fake; the Cold War was a goof.

The USSR was ahead of us in every aspect of the “space race”

Except they weren't and hadn't been for a while.

yet still has for some reason declined to be the 2nd nation to plant their flag on the moon.

Because their space program was falling apart.

because their space program was falling apart.

Their space program has been falling apart all the way to today? And still no other nation or organization has even come close to even trying to land people on the moon?

Please. Its utter rubbish. Make better excuses next time. The age of deception is almost over.

Their space program has been falling apart all the way to today?

The USSR doesn't exist anymore so yeah.

And still no other nation or organization has even come close to even trying to land people on the moon?

What would be the reason? We already went to the moon.

Oh vey! We already went to the moon. Why would we go back goy? We know every damn fucking thing about the moon because 12 people walked on the moon. Were fucking experts now!

We can't even get a clear photo of the fucking surface of the moon but we're fucking experts. So there's no point to get clear pictures or ever visit the moon.

The truth will come out soon. The bigger the lie the harder the fall.

Oh vey! We already went to the moon. Why would we go back goy? We know every damn fucking thing about the moon because 12 people walked on the moon. We're fucking experts now!

Your point?

We can't even get a clear photo of the fucking surface of the moon but we're fucking experts. So there's no point to get clear pictures or ever visit the moon.

Right, your point?

I see to failed again to use logic and reason to develop a clear mission plan for why they would need to return to the moon.

Right, your point? I see to failed again to use logic and reason to develop a clear mission plan for why they would need to return to the moon.

What was the point to go to the moon on the original mission? Oh, i dont know, maybe to fucking explore and discover new things. Shit. Why that needs to be explained to you?

What was the point to go to the moon on the original mission?

to see if they could do it.

They did.

to wave their dicks at the world.

They did.

Oh, i dont know, maybe to fucking explore and discover new things.

Yep, and then that mission ended.

Shit. Why that needs to be explained to you?

Still not gonna step up are we? Shocked, really.

According to the recent CIA files, Russia knew about the JFK assassination, but said nothing about it.

These sources, and others about LRO that can be found by digging through the ones you have posted here, don't support your assertion that LRO's camera has a subpar camera in relation to cameras launched on other spacecraft at a similar time. Note the following quote from Wikipedia:

The probe has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow),[14] including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites.[15][16]

Arizona State University is the group running the LRO's camera, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). Their website indicates:

LROC consists of two Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) that are designed to provide 0.5 meter-scale panchromatic images over a 5 km swath, and a Wide Angle Camera (WAC) that provides images at a scale of 100 meters/pixel in seven color bands over a 60 km swath. The Sequence and Compressor System (SCS) supports data acquisition for both cameras.

Thus, the LROC has a resolution approximately equal to the Worldview satellite that was launched at a similar time as LRO.

This is huge. Thank you very much for taking the time to share what I missed.

The follow up question is, given the accuracy of the camera sensor and the better physical characteristics of the LRO (closer to surface, no atmospheric distortions), why do we have such poor quality, black/white images? WorldView-2 can provide color images.

I don't know the details of why the LROC was designed the way it was, but from the available information I'll point out a few things: * The LROC hardly produces "poor quality" images - the 0.5 m resolution images from the NAC are tack-sharp. * Note that the NACs are panchromatic - meaning they record intensity of light hitting each pixel, not color. It could be a design decision based on not wanting to store and transmit (the LRO sends 155GB of data a day already) that much color detail information about an object that is essentially grayscale anyway. * The WAC supports color visualization. It may be that the science mission design only needed color visualization at that scale. * This map is pretty neat and allows you to see the data that has been transmitted from the LROC.

In short, the images are high-quality, and I don't know what trade-offs took place to design the NACs so they only returned black-and-white images, but the transmission data bandwidth budget and science mission goals that are different from an Earth-image-providing satellite probably influenced how complex and data-intensive a satellite the US taxpayers sent to the Moon is compared to a commercial Earth-orbiting imaging satellite.

That LROC map is fascinating.

It seems from 2009 to today there are more clear photos from LRO since its orbit was lowered closer to the surface.

Load of bullshit. Your disgusting acronym desciptions speak of your pathetically desperate positio. People are waking up to the lies. The truth will come out.

I was watching that Japanese live stream above the moon, thinking OK this is interesting. 4 minutes in the stream "fades out" and a new part of the moon is show. Its all fuckery. Nothing can be a continuous stream of earth or the moon.

Can you provide a link to that stream? There was never a live stream of video from the moon. Whoever was streaming that was just playing an old video over and over again and pretending it was live. You got conned.

There are a few channels that do that. This one, for example, is just playing the same, 1 hour video of a spacewalk from 2015 over and over again, pretending it's live.

That's my point, it obviously wasn't live. We never get live unedited continuous footage of anything.

Then what point are you trying to make? It wasn't a space agency trying to mislead you, it's just some random idiot on the internet playing a video he found over and over pretending it's live for the views and ad revenue.

I just stated the point I made.

What was it? It sounds like you were trying to discredit the space program, but as I demonstrated, you didn't.

Ok, so link me to the live continuous space program feed of earth or the moon (with no edits or cuts). I'll wait here.

Here is the one from the ISS

The Japanese Himawari 8 Satellite in Geosynchronous orbit above Indonesia also has a stream, however I believe that is pictures that update every minute, not video.

"Here is...but" "Here is...but"

There is always "but". Point closed.

???

What is that supposed to mean? Do you have an explanation for those videos or not?

You guys came out in full force. You're losing. Soon.

What is incorrect about my comments?

Hubble’s focal length is too far to see the moon clearly.

How convenient.

It’s designed to see far, not close. It’s like taking a camera with a zoom lens and and focusing on a flower. Just won’t do it.

How very convenient.

Get some binoculars and look at something 12" in front of you. Same principle.

There is no Apollo landing spot in the moon.

A team probably already "reconstructed" the landing area using computer graphics. The reason they don't want to show (fake) proof yet is because they are in the fence and don't want to dig a bigger hole of lies.

If it was me, I will wait until everybody to blame is dead. Then after (fake flag /new tech disclose / nasa is cannibalized) say that Apollo "was a rogue group inside Nasa" / "orchestrated by the deep state" / "most scientists were tricked too and not aware" / "a sad chapter in our history that we won't repeat" / ...

Doing it after sending humans to the moon for real would be the best, so probably is not possible yet to do that. (radiation)

Of course, they might also be waiting for a big planned event or upcoming cataclysm to let time erase it.

Do you think that we have gone to space since?

"We" went to space before and after.

There are probably people in LEO (LowEarthOrbit) right now.

All missions except Apollo have been LEO (2000Km=1200miles)

Apollo manned spaceships went up to 400.000Km from the Earth.

So all missions went 0.5% that distance. All except Apollo.

bonus: Revelations 9:11

It wasn’t meant to focus on the moon. We have other cameras and probes for that.

The LRO wasn't meant to? I'm pretty sure that was it's sole mission.

First of all then why hasn’t any country confirmed our landing? The USSR was ahead of us in every aspect of the “space race” yet still has for some reason declined to be the 2nd nation to plant their flag on the moon.

And no, they wouldn’t have called our bluff because they simply wouldn’t have been believed. Who would have believed them? The US government would have called it communist propaganda.

More likely, they blackmailed us instead. Even more likely still, they are participants in the space hoax and always have been. Sputnik was fake; the Cold War was a goof.

That LROC map is fascinating.

It seems from 2009 to today there are more clear photos from LRO since its orbit was lowered closer to the surface.

According to the recent CIA files, Russia knew about the JFK assassination, but said nothing about it.

Load of bullshit. Your disgusting acronym desciptions speak of your pathetically desperate positio. People are waking up to the lies. The truth will come out.

How very convenient.

Do you think that we have gone to space since?

???

What is that supposed to mean? Do you have an explanation for those videos or not?