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#Throwback Thursday: The time when I wanted to shoot music videos and use my creativity freely. Though I enjoyed it there were times that I thought I would never shoot a music video again. • • #TalkoftheStreets #MusicVideo #TBT #throwbackthursday #FilmedBySMC #ShootMoveCommunicate #SMC #Harrisburg #Canon #FinalCutProX (at Washington D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_VbX7MnSse/?igshid=1i4qzshxg8of8
The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883 and is one of the oldest roadway bridges in the United States. Lower Manhattan is the present-day Financial District. It is also the point at which the city of New York began in 1624. Couldn't decide between the color and black & white versions of the Lower Manhattan skyline. So I uploaded both. ---- #longexposure #landscape #cityscape #skyline #newyorkcity #manhattan #brooklyn #bridge #citylights #urban #buildings #blackandwhite #photography @photographerfocus #throwbackthursday #tbt #funfacts (at Brooklyn Bridge) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnaE0lFn9L6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15vdxvp73gbxd
Throwback Thursday: Answers to Apollo Moon Landing Questions
The first six missions to the Moon helped us answer questions about our nearest celestial neighbor, but a curious public wanted to know more about how we did it. With the help of the NASA History Office, we’ve identified some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the first time humans walked on the surface of another world. Read on and click here to check out our post from last week and the week before.
Why do some shadows on the Moon appear to go in different directions?
For Apollo astronauts, the Sun wasn’t the sole source of light. The high reflectivity of the lunar surface or “albedo” means that the Moon's many craters, hills and rocks bounce sunlight to wash out the stars multiple shadows on objects. The highly uneven terrain means that shadows can have slightly different lengths, as well. For example, two astronauts standing several feet away from each other can have different shadow lengths because one may be on a slope.
While the Lunar Module itself was also reflective, Apollo astronauts had yet another bright source of light: Earth! To a moonwalker, a half-full Earth would be about 20 times brighter than a full Moon as seen from our home planet. This also explains why stars are not visible in pictures. Think about it: if you wanted to photograph all the stars that can be seen from Earth, would you want to do it during a full Moon?
Why are there no blast craters under the Lunar Modules?
The Moon has endured billions of years of bombardment from micrometeorites and large meteorites, compacting the dust into extremely dense rock. A thin layer of fine and powdery moondust covers the ground, but the dense rock beneath this layer makes it hard to penetrate the surface. That, paired with an engine thrusting in a vacuum means that the exhaust would expand rapidly outward instead of straight down like it would on Earth. The large engine nozzle. Still, many pictures clearly show dust markings radiating from the landing site.
Can Humans Really Survive Passing Through the Van Allen Radiation Belts?
The short answer is yes, but with protection. The Van Allen radiation belts, named after their discoverer James van Allen, are regions high above Earth’s surface that trap highly charged particles that radiate off the Sun. This energetic region contains harmful radiation that would be lethal to anybody who encountered them unprotected. Thankfully, the 12 astronauts that passed through the belts did so relatively quickly in the comfort of their shielded spacecraft that had been tested to withstand high doses of radiation. Although all six crews had to pass through the Van Allen belts, the dosimeters indicated that they received a dosage no higher than that of a chest X-ray or a single CAT scan.
Why are we going back to the Moon?
Exploring the Moon is only the first part in our mission to expand humanity’s presence on Mars and beyond. The Moon is the ideal stepping stone for testing technology that will enable us to expand humanity’s presence on Mars and beyond. Click here to learn more about the Artemis program that will take humans to the lunar surface within five years -- this time, to stay. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Throwback Thursday: Apollo 11 Moon Landing Questions Answered
The Apollo 11 Moon landing was a feat for the ages. With the help of the NASA History Office, we’ve identified some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the first time humans walked on the surface of another world. Click here to check out our post from last week.
Is it true that the Apollo guidance computer had less computing power than a smartphone?
Believe it or not, yes! The Apollo guidance computer not only had less computing power than a smartphone, it had less computing power than the calculator you use in your algebra class. The computer, designed by MIT, had a fixed memory of 36 kilobytes and an erasable memory of 2 kilobytes. That’s fairly advanced for the time!
Why did Buzz Aldrin take a picture of his bootprint?
A substantial portion of the Apollo 11 crew’s checklist was taking photographs. Taking closeup shots of the "very fine” moon dust was a critical component of mission objectives and helped scientists better understand the surface makeup of the Moon.
Armstrong and Aldrin wore lunar overboots over their main spacesuit boots to protect them from ultraviolet radiation and hazardous rocks. To make room for the nearly 50 pounds (22 kilograms) of lunar samples, the crew left all their pairs of boots on the Moon. But don’t worry; they wouldn’t get charged an overweight baggage fee anyway.
What were the first words spoken from the surface of the Moon?
That’s somewhat subject to interpretation. Once the Lunar Module’s surface sensor touched the surface, Buzz Aldrin called out "Contact Light” to Mission Control. After the engine shut down, he said “ACA out of detent,” simply meaning that the Eagle’s Attitude Control Assembly, or control stick, was moved from its center position.
But the first words heard by the entire world after Apollo 11 touched down were delivered by Neil Armstrong: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” More than six hours later, Armstrong stepped off the Eagle’s footpad and delivered the most famous words ever spoken from the surface of another world: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." And although we have a hard time hearing it in the recording, Armstrong clarified in a post-flight interview that he actually said, “That’s one small step for a man...”
What will the first woman and the next man to go to the Moon say when they first step on its surface?
We can’t say for sure what our next moonwalkers will decide to say, but perhaps the better question is: What would be your first words if you were to land on the Moon? There’s no doubt that the astronauts of the Artemis Generation will inspire a new crop of explorers the way Apollo Generation astronauts did 50 years ago. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Throwback Thursday: Frequently Asked Questions about Apollo
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, we’ll be sharing answers to some frequently asked questions about the first time humans voyaged to the Moon. Answers have been compiled from archivists in the NASA History Office.
How many people worked on the Apollo program?
At the height of Apollo in 1965, about 409,900 people worked on some aspect of the program, but that number doesn’t capture it all.
It doesn’t represent the people who worked on mission concepts or spacecraft design, such as the engineers who did the wind tunnel testing of the Apollo Command Module and then moved on to other projects. The number also doesn’t represent the NASA astronauts, mission controllers, remote communications personnel, etc. who would have transferred to the Apollo program only after the end of Gemini program (1966-1967). There were still others who worked on the program only part-time or served on temporary committees. In the image above are three technicians studying an Apollo 14 Moon rock in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. From left to right, they are Linda Tyler, Nancy Trent and Sandra Richards.
How many people have walked on the Moon so far?
This artwork portrait done by spaceflight historian Ed Hengeveld depicts the 12 people who have walked on the Moon so far. In all, 24 people have flown to the Moon and three of them, John Young, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan, have made the journey twice.
But these numbers will increase.
Are the U.S. flags that were planted on the Moon still standing?
Every successful Apollo lunar landing mission left a flag on the Moon but we don’t know yet whether all are still standing. Some flags were set up very close to the Lunar Module and were in the blast radius of its ascent engine, so it’s possible that some of them could have been knocked down. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin both reported that the flag had been knocked down following their ascent.
Our Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter took photographs of all the Apollo lunar landing sites. In the case of the Apollo 17 site, you can see the shadow of the upright flag.
But why does it look like it’s waving?
The flags appear to “wave” or “flap” but actually they’re swinging. Swinging motions on Earth are dampened due to gravity and air resistance, but on the Moon any swinging motion can continue for much longer. Once the flags settled (and were clear of the ascent stage exhaust), they remained still. And how is the flag hanging? Before launching, workers on the ground had attached a horizontal rod to the top of each flag for support, allowing it to be visible in pictures and television broadcasts to the American public. Armstrong and Aldrin did not fully extend the rod once they were on the Moon, giving the flag a ripple effect. The other astronauts liked the ripple effect so much that they also did not completely extend the rod.
Why don’t we see stars in any of the pictures?
Have you ever taken a photo of the night sky with your phone or camera? You likely won’t see any stars because your camera’s settings are likely set to short exposure time which only lets it quickly take in the light off the bright objects closest to you. It’s the same reason you generally don’t see stars in spacewalk pictures from the International Space Station. There’s no use for longer exposure times to get an image like this one of Bruce McCandless in 1984 as seen from Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41B).
The Hasselblad cameras that Apollo astronauts flew with were almost always set to short exposure times. And why didn’t the astronauts photograph the stars? Well, they were busy exploring the Moon!
When are we going back to the Moon?
The first giant leap was only the beginning. Work is under way to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon in five years. As we prepare to launch the next era of exploration, the new Artemis program is the first step in humanity’s presence on the Moon and beyond.
Keep checking back for more answers to Apollo FAQs.
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