Moon landing SHOCK: What happened to ‘lost’

Apollo 11 tapes? NASA speaks out

NASA 50 years ago landed two astronauts on the Moon, triggering an avalanche of Moon landing conspiracies for decades to come – but
what happened to NASA’s supposedly “lost” Apollo 11 tapes?

Moon landing: Neil Armstrong confession revealed by astronaut

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NASA (/latest/NASA)’s Apollo 11 mission successfully landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The Moon landing, led by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz
Aldrin and Michael Collins, was watched live around the world. An estimated 650 million people watched Commander Armstrong walk on the Moon 50
years ago. And yet generations of conspiracy theorists have questioned the official story, branding the Moon landing a hoax.

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Now, as the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing approaches, NASA has addressed some commonly held misbeliefs.

A popular conspiracy theory claims the US space (/latest/space) agency has lost crucial video evidence of the Moon landing.

Another conspiracy claims NASA has also lost never-before-seen footage of the Moon landing.

Neither of these two scenarios, according to NASA, are true.

READ MORE: Why did the Apollo 11 flag wave and flap in space? (/news/science/1140849/NASA-Moon-landing-flag-Apollo-11-why-flag-wave-
flap-NASA-hoax-conspiracy)

Moon landing shock: What happened to NASA's "lost" Apollo 11 tapes? (Image: NASA)

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Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin (Image: NASA)

NASA said: “With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing approaching, reports have resurfaced that NASA lost precious video footage of
that first moonwalk.

“Before diving into the details of two distinct events that seem to have become conflated, it’s worth
emphasising three key points. In case anyone thinks
there is video out there
“NASA searched for but could not locate some of the original Apollo 11 data tapes – ‘original’ in the that hasn’t been seen,
sense that they directly recorded data transmitted from the Moon.” that is not the case
Dick Nafzger, NASA
An “intensive” search through NASA records and archives did not reveal the tapes, leading NASA to
believe they were wiped and erased simply because they were no longer needed.

READ MORE: Was it worth spending billions to put the first man on the Moon? (/news/science/1150781/NASA-Moon-landing-anniversary-
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Another point, NASA said, is the video data on these tapes was transmitted over to the Manned Spacecraft Center during the Apollo 11 mission.
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The video was recorded there as well as other locations and, as such, there is no missing footage of the moonwalk.

NASA’s search has also uncovered high-quality video broadcasts from the moonwalk, which NASA restored in 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the
Moon landing.

NASA said: “Data from the Apollo 11 mission was sent from the spacecraft to three ground stations, one in California and two in Australia, which
retransmitted it to the Manned Space Flight Center in Houston.

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Apollo 11: Gene Kranz gives commands to Armstrong and Aldrin

“The ground stations also recorded the data on special one-inch, 14-track tapes, one track of which was for video.

“The video footage was recorded in ‘slow scan’ — 10 video frames per second — which meant it couldn't be directly broadcast over commercial
television.”

The video was instead converted for broadcast purposes and beamed to a satellite, patched through Houston and shared with the rest of the world.

NASA first led a search for 14-inch Apollo tapes following requests from retired NASA employees.

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Moon landing: Buzz Aldrin's footprint on the surface of the Moon (Image: NASA)

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Moon landing timeline: Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (Image: GETTY)

The space agency did not find the tapes, concluding they were repurposed in accordance with the standard practice at the time.

NASA engineer Dick Nafzger, who led the search, said at the time no additional footage from the Moon exists.

Mr Nafzger said at a 2009 press conference: “There was no video that came down slow scan that was not converted live, fed live, to Houston and fed
live to the world.

“So, just in case anyone thinks there is video out there that hasn’t been seen, that is not the case."

Express_news 
@PaulBaldwin

Did NASA really ever land on the

Moon?

Yes, several mes - and this picture is part of the proof

No way - there are far too many anomalies, the pictures must
have been faked

I guess we will never know for sure

Quick facts about the Apollo 11 mission: 6/7

1. Apollo 11 took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on July 16, 1969.

2. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their efforts.

3. Upon return, the three astronauts had to spend 21 days in quarantine.

4. Michael Collins was the only Apollo 11 astronaut who did not walk on the Moon.

5. Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.

NASA (/latest/nasa) Space (/latest/space)

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