Original subtitles

WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SEE ANYTHING ON THE MOON.

WHEN BUZZ ALDRIN SWITCHED ON THE TV CAMERA,

IMAGE QUALITY WAS LOST.

Narrator: COULD THE DISAPPEARANCE

OF A PRICELESS MOON-LANDING ARTIFACT...

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BACKUP TAPES?

...BE PROOF OF A COVER-UP?

SOMETHING'S FISHY, BOYS.

WOW.

WHY CAN'T MODERN TECHNOLOGY DELIVER BETTER EVIDENCE

OF THE LUNAR LANDER'S PRESENCE ON THE MOON?

IF THIS IS THERE, WHY CAN'T WE SEE IT?

THERE'S EVIDENCE THERE, PROOF.

AND WHAT IMPORTANT DETAIL IS MISSING

FROM NASA'S OFFICIAL PHOTOS?

WHY CAN'T YOU SEE IT IN ANY OF THE PHOTOS?

WHOA! HOLD ON.

A FORMER FBI AGENT, A FORMER AEROSPACE CONSULTANT

AND LEADING CONSPIRACY THEORIST,

AND AN AMERICAN ASTRONAUT ARE INVESTIGATING...

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Jenkins: WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF ANOTHER MYSTERY.

THIS TIME, THE CONSPIRACY CLAIMED

THAT THERE'S NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF A MOON LANDING.

AND IF THERE ISN'T ANY,

THEN THERE'S THE CASE TO BE MADE THAT WE NEVER WENT.

TO DISPROVE THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS,

WE NEED TO CLOSELY EXAMINE THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,

THE VIDEOS AND PHOTOS,

TO DETERMINE IF THE MOON LANDING REALLY HAPPENED.

YEAH, LIKE YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S ALWAYS GO

WHERE THE FACTS TAKE US, RIGHT?

I MEAN, NO EVIDENCE OF A MOON LANDING, MAYBE NO MOON LANDING.

I THINK IT ALL STARTS WITH THE FIRST VISUAL EVIDENCE

THAT WE'VE HAD -- THE ACTUAL MOON-LANDING FOOTAGE.

YOU GOT TO REMEMBER THAT, BACK IN JULY OF 1969,

WE DID NOT ACTUALLY SEE A LIVE FEED FROM NASA.

WHAT WE ACTUALLY GOT WAS A COPY.

THE NEWS NETWORKS ACTUALLY SHOT WHAT THEY SHOWED TO US

IN THEIR OWN NEWSROOMS OFF OF A FEED FROM NASA,

AND IT RAISES THE QUESTION, "CAN WE REALLY TRUST IT?"

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS HAVE LONG HAD A PROBLEM

WITH THE JULY 20th BROADCAST.

IT COULD'VE BEEN FAKED.

WELL, WHY DON'T WE GO LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL TAPES, THEN?

OKAY, GREAT. WHERE ARE THOSE?

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES WILL HAVE THEM.

NOW, THAT'S A NATIONAL TREASURE.

THAT VIDEO IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL TIME.

Jenkins: FDR FOUNDED THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION IN 1934

TO DOCUMENT AND PRESERVE AMERICA'S HISTORICAL RECORDS.

AS OUR COUNTRY CONTINUES TO GROW,

THE ARCHIVES HAVE EXPANDED

TO MORE THAN 40 FACILITIES NATIONWIDE.

THEY HOUSE EVERYTHING FROM THE ORIGINAL

SIGNED DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

AND THE CONSTITUTION TO THE MOST IMPORTANT FILM,

PHOTOGRAPHY, AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY.

THAT'S WHERE THE MOON-LANDING FOOTAGE WILL BE.

AND THE MERE FACT THAT IT'S THERE PROVES

HOW IMPORTANT THAT FOOTAGE IS.

WE NEED SOMEONE FAMILIAR WITH THE SOURCE MATERIAL

WE WANT TO SEE, SO WE REACHED OUT TO JOE HARRIS.

JOE HAS BEEN DOING RESEARCH AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

AND THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES,

MOST OF THE LAST 10 YEARS

SHARPLY FOCUSED ON NASA-RELATED INFORMATION,

APOLLO 11 IN PARTICULAR.

I'VE BEEN WORKING ON A LOT OF NASA-RELATED DOCUMENTARIES,

SPECIFICALLY APOLLO 11,

GETTING PREPARED FOR THE 50th ANNIVERSARY.

WE'RE HOPING JOE COULD TELL US WHAT HE'S SEEN

ON THE MOON-LANDING TAPES

AND PROVIDE US COPIES WE CAN GET OUR OWN EYES ON.

SO, HOW MUCH MATERIAL DID YOU FIND?

LIKE, WHAT WAS TRANSFERRED FROM NASA TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES?

RIGHT, WELL, FOR THEIR WHOLE PROGRAM,

YOU'RE TALKING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

AND THOUSANDS OF REELS.

Melvin: FROM THE START OF THE SPACE PROGRAM,

NASA WAS DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING.

Man: BOOSTER, GO. RETRO.

THEY FILMED TESTS, SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS,

THE CONSTRUCTION OF EQUIPMENT,

AND EVEN ASTRONAUT TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Man: TO FLY SPACECRAFT, PILOTS ARE NEEDED.

HAVE YOU GONE THROUGH ALL OF THAT?

WELL, NO.

I HAVEN'T HAD ANY MORE THAN SEVERAL LIFETIMES

TO LOOK THROUGH ALL OF IT, BUT A LOT OF IT, A LOT OF IT,

AND SPECIFICALLY FOR APOLLO 11.

Man: DO YOU THINK YOU CAN OPEN THE HATCH AT THIS PRESSURE?

WE'RE GONNA TRY IT.

OKAY, HOUSTON, I'M ON THE PORCH.

Jenkins: TO FACILITATE THE FILMING OF THE APOLLO 11,

THE LUNAR MODULE, AND THE MOON WALK,

NASA HAD TWO 16-MILLIMETER FILM CAMERAS,

A TELEVISION CAMERA ORBITING THE MOON IN THE COLUMBIA,

AND A BLACK-AND-WHITE TV CAMERA

LOCATED OUTSIDE THE LUNAR MODULE ITSELF

TO TRANSMIT THOSE FIRST STEPS ON THE MOON.

TWO HASSELBLAD CAMERAS WERE ABOARD APOLLO 11.

ONE REMAINED INSIDE THE VEHICLE

AND WAS USED FOR INTERIOR PICTURES OF THE CAPSULE

AND THE PHOTOS SHOT THROUGH ITS WINDOWS.

THE OTHER HASSELBLAD WAS USED FOR OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE.

IT WAS HEAVILY MODIFIED TO SURVIVE THE HARSH LUNAR SURFACE

AND PAINTED SILVER TO HELP REGULATE ITS TEMPERATURE.

[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]

SO WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO FIND, REGARDING APOLLO 11?

WELL, I ACTUALLY BROUGHT A SAMPLE OF SOMETHING

THAT'S FROM THE MISSION CONTROL ROOM,

AND THEY ZOOM RIGHT IN TO THE MOON LANDING RIGHT HERE.

♪

-JOE, THAT'S GRAINY. -IT IS.

BUT IT IS A REAL SPECIAL MOMENT, AND IT'S ALL WE GOT.

IT'S AWFUL.

-IS THAT A FOOT, CHAD? -IT IS A FOOT.

IT'S ALSO THE MOON.

ROGER THAT.

IF YOU SAY SO, JOE.

FOOTAGE OF THE MOON LANDING OBVIOUSLY EXISTS,

BUT IT'S GRAINY AND LOOKS SECONDHAND.

THE IMAGES ARE INDECIPHERABLE.

OUR INVESTIGATION WILL REQUIRE THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST FOOTAGE.

THAT'S ALL YOU GOT.

SO, WHAT ABOUT THE ORIGINAL APOLLO 11 MATERIAL,

THE STUFF THAT BACKED UP THE BROADCAST?

Harris: YOU MEAN THE MAGNETIC TAPES.

YEAH.

I'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT PLACE WITH A FINE-TOOTH COMB,

AND I HAVE NOT FOUND THESE TAPES THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.

THEY -- THEY DON'T --

THEY DON'T EXIST AT THE ARCHIVES.

THIS IS GROUND ZERO FOR A LOT OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

WHEN DOCUMENTS, ARTIFACTS, OR WITNESSES GO MISSING,

PEOPLE ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S BEING COVERED UP.

SOMETHING'S FISHY, BOYS.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "SOMETHING'S FISHY"?

Jenkins: MIKE HERE IS OUR IN-HOUSE CONSPIRACY THEORIST.

I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN LOOK, TOO.

HE DOES.

COULD THE APOLLO 11 TAPES HAVE JUST DISAPPEARED?

IF THEY'RE NOT IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,

THEY HAVE TO BE SOMEWHERE.

WELL, WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST WE GO NEXT TO TRY TO FIND THESE TAPES?

APPARENTLY, THERE'S BEEN A TEAM

SEARCHING FOR THE TAPES SINCE THE EARLY 2000s.

I WOULD CHECK WITH THEM.

ALRIGHT, WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S WHERE WE NEED

TO TAKE THIS INVESTIGATION NEXT.

LET'S DO THIS.

Jenkins: JOE DIRECTED US TO JOHN SARKISSIAN,

AN OPERATIONS SCIENTIST FROM THE CSIRO

PARKES RADIO OBSERVATORY IN AUSTRALIA.

CSIRO IS AUSTRALIA'S FEDERAL AGENCY

RESPONSIBLE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,

AND THE PARKES OBSERVATORY

WAS ONE OF THE TRACKING STATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE

THAT NASA HAD ARRANGED TO RECEIVE

VIDEO TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE MOON.

Melvin: AT THE MOMENT NEIL ARMSTRONG

OPENED THE HATCH OF THE LUNAR MODULE

AND STEPPED OUT ONTO THE MOON'S SURFACE,

PARKES WAS THE TRACKING STATION

WITH THE DIRECT LINE ON THE APOLLO SIGNAL.

LET ME GO AHEAD AND RAISE HIM ON THE VIDEO.

HEY, JOHN, IT'S CHAD JENKINS FROM THE US. HOW ARE YOU?

HEY, I'M HERE WITH LELAND MELVIN AND MIKE BARA.

HI, JOHN.

COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND

AND THE WORK THAT YOU DID WITH THE SPACE PROGRAM?

Anchorman: SAID THAT 500 MILLION PEOPLE

GATHERED AT TV SETS AROUND THE WORLD

TO WAIT FOR THE FIRST EARTHLING TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.

NEVER BEFORE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE BEEN ATTUNED

TO ONE EVENT AT ONE TIME.

[ ANCHORMAN SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ]

SO, WE UNDERSTAND YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO US

HOW THE ORIGINAL APOLLO 11 BROADCAST

WAS RECEIVED AND STORED.

Man #2: YOU GOT A GOOD PICTURE, HUH?

Man #3: UH, THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF CONTRAST IN IT,

AND CURRENTLY, IT'S UPSIDE DOWN ON OUR MONITORS,

BUT WE CAN MAKE OUT A FAIR AMOUNT OF DETAIL.

Jenkins: THE BANDWIDTH NEEDED TO TRANSMIT VIDEO FROM SPACE

WAS ALREADY BEING UTILIZED TO SEND VITAL SHIP DATA,

THE APOLLO 11's BEARING, AND ELECTRONIC STATUS TO EARTH.

THEY COULDN'T TRANSMIT THE AMOUNT OF DATA

NEEDED FOR A STANDARD TV SIGNAL,

SO THEY NEEDED TO CUT BACK ON THE DATA

THEY WOULD SEND VIA TV CAMERA.

SO A NEW FORMAT WAS DEVELOPED, ONE THAT WAS SMALLER AND SLOWER

AND REQUIRED LESS BANDWIDTH.

JUST 320 SCAN LINES AND ONLY 10 FRAMES PER SECOND.

THAT'S WHY IT LOOKS SO JUMPY.

THAT'S A THIRD OF THE SPEED OF A CONVENTIONAL TV CAMERA.

WHAT WAS THE PROCESS FOR CONVERTING THE SIGNAL

SO THAT THE PEOPLE COULD SEE IT ON TELEVISION?

Bara: SO, THE BEST WAY TO GET THIS ON TV

WAS LITERALLY TO POINT A CAMERA AT A MONITOR AND FILM THAT?

THAT'S LIKE PHOTOCOPYING A PHOTOCOPY OVER AND OVER,

AND WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT LOOKS.

IF THIS WAS THE BEST TV TECH AMERICA HAD,

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE WE HAD ALL THE OTHER TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY

TO GET TO THE MOON?

WE'VE HEARD THERE'S BEEN A BACKUP TAPE

THAT WAS RECORDED OF THE MOON LANDING, AS WELL.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO US WHAT THAT IS?

Narrator: THE MISSING MOON-LANDING TAPES.

Bara: WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BACKUP TAPES?

WOW.

♪

WE'VE HEARD THERE'S BEEN A BACKUP TAPE

THAT WAS RECORDED OF THE MOON LANDING, AS WELL.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO US WHAT THAT IS?

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BACKUP TAPES?

THAT'S CRAY-CRAY.

WHAT LED YOU TO START HUNTING DOWN THESE TAPES?

THESE AREN'T JUST HISTORICAL TREASURES.

THEY'RE ALSO VITAL ARTIFACTS

THAT COULD QUIET CONSPIRACY THEORISTS LIKE MIKE.

♪

WOW. ERASED?

WHAT THE --

THEY CODED THESE IMPORTANT TAPES WITH A SYSTEM

THAT LEFT IT UNCLEAR WHAT WAS EVEN ON THEM.

Jenkins: HEY, JOHN, THANKS A LOT.

-THANKS, JOHN. -THANKS, JOHN.

IT WAS KIND OF STRANGE, THOUGH, THAT HE SAID

THERE'S INTRICATE CODE ON THESE TAPES.

NO ONE HAD THE DECODER RING

TO TELL THAT THESE WERE THE APOLLO TAPES.

YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD THINK SOMEONE WOULD HAVE WRITTEN

"APOLLO 11, MOON LANDING TAPES," BUT, YOU KNOW...

OR PULL THE LITTLE TAB

SO YOU COULDN'T RECORD OVER THEM, YOU KNOW?

-YEAH. -I MEAN, IT'S ACTUALLY BAFFLING.

I MEAN, LOOK, WITHOUT THOSE TAPES,

IS THERE ANY REAL EVIDENCE THAT WE WENT TO THE MOON IN '69?

Jenkins: WELL, WE DO HAVE PHOTOGRAPHS.

THE PROBLEM TO MIKE AND THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

IS THE MOON LANDING PICTURES WE DO HAVE LOOK FAKE.

THEY WANT TO KNOW, FOR STARTERS, WHERE ARE THE STARS.

♪

Bara: THE REASON SO MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES EXIST

IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY ILLOGICAL DETAILS

SURROUNDING THE '69 LANDING.

IT MAKES PEOPLE WONDER.

-YOU HAVE TO JUMP TO CONSPIRACY. -OF COURSE.

WHAT MIKE KNOWS ABOUT CONSPIRACY THEORIES IS MORE THAN MADE UP

FOR BY HIS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE BASICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

SO I'VE TAKEN HIM TO POUND RIDGE, NEW YORK,

TO MEET WITH AN EXPERT.

♪

STAN HONDA IS AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE.

HE'S A PHOTOJOURNALIST WHO'S ASTRONOMY-RELATED PHOTOGRAPHY

HAS BEEN FEATURED IN DOZENS OF MAGAZINES,

NEWSPAPERS, AND WEBSITES.

HE DID A FIVE-YEAR STINT

PHOTOGRAPHING THE SPACE-SHUTTLE PROGRAM.

AND NASA'S USED HIS PHOTOGRAPHY ON THEIR OWN SITES.

WE NEED HIM, USING THE SCIENCE BEHIND ASTRO PHOTOGRAPHY,

TO EXPLAIN TO MIKE WHY THERE ARE NO STARS VISIBLE

IN THOSE MOON-LANDING PHOTOS.

-HEY, STAN, HOW'S IT GOING? -LELAND.

-GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. -GOOD TO SEE YOU.

YOU KNOW, HEY, MIKE, THIS GUY TOOK PICTURES OF ME

WHEN I WAS WALKING TO GO OUT

TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE IN THE ASTRO VAN.

BOTH MY MISSIONS, RIGHT? FOR YOUR VERY FIRST FLIGHT.

STS-122.

-122. -AND 129.

SO YOU COULD PROVE THAT HE ACTUALLY GOT ON A SPACE SHUTTLE?

HE'S NOT MAKING IT UP. NO, HE'S NOT MAKING IT UP.

THAT WASN'T A CONSPIRACY THEORY.

COOL.

I MAY BE THE RESIDENT CONSPIRACY THEORISTS,

BUT I DON'T DOUBT LELAND'S SPACE-SHUTTLE MISSIONS.

I'VE SEEN PROOF.

I HAVE EVIDENCE OF THOSE FLIGHTS.

I RESPECT THAT.

WELL, HEY, THIS GUY,

WE GOT TO CONVINCE HIM ABOUT SOME THINGS, YOU KNOW?

YOU'RE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER.

UH-HUH.

AND YOU DO ALL OF THIS INCREDIBLE WORK,

ASTRO PHOTOGRAPHY AT NIGHT.

BUT THERE'S THESE PICTURES THAT WERE TAKEN OF EARTH

FROM THE MOON. RIGHT.

AND THESE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE FAKE.

WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S MORE THAN THAT.

THE ISSUE, FROM THE CONSPIRACY COMMUNITY,

THE WAY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE PHOTOS IS,

A LOT OF THEM JUST DON'T LOOK RIGHT.

AND KIND OF THE BIGGEST THING THAT COMES UP

IS THE FACT THAT THERE'S NO STARS IN THE SKY.

PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE STARS AND PLANETS AND GALAXIES

AND MILKY WAY AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO EVERYBODY WONDERS,

"WHY CAN'T YOU SEE IT IN ANY OF THE PHOTOS?"

YOU JUST GET THIS ABSOLUTE SORT OF BLACK CURTAIN

OVER THE ASTRONAUTS AT THE LANDING SITES,

AND THAT'S KIND OF CONSIDERED VERY SUSPECT.

Bara: IT'S SIMPLE.

IF THEY WERE ON THE MOON,

WHY AREN'T THERE STARS IN THE PICTURES?

AND, ALSO, THERE'S THE FACT

THAT ALL THE SORT OF PRE-PRODUCTION ART

THAT NASA CREATED FOR THE MISSIONS

THAT THEY WOULD SHOW TO PEOPLE ALWAYS SHOWED THE STARS

AND THE MILKY WAY AND EVERYTHING.

THAT PRE-MISSION ARTWORK HAS CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

DIGGING IN EVEN DEEPER.

IF THE MOON LANDING WAS FAKED ON A SOUND STAGE,

WHY WOULDN'T NASA JUST FAKE STARS, TOO?

IT'D BE EASY ENOUGH.

THE EXPLANATION YOU'LL HEAR IN SOME CIRCLES IS,

ASTRONOMERS WOULD BE ABLE TO DETECT

THE PARTICULAR CONSTELLATIONS,

WEREN'T WHERE THEY WOULD'VE BEEN ON THAT DATE.

IT ALL STARTS WITH NASA TRAINING ASTRONAUTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY.

LELAND, I THINK YOU UNDERWENT A LOT OF THAT TRAINING.

YEAH, PHOTO -- SOMETHING CALLED PHOTO TV.

AND I KNOW THAT THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS HAD MANY,

MANY MONTHS OF TRAINING TO HAVE THE RIGHT SETTINGS

FOR THOSE HASSELBLAD CAMERAS

THAT WERE TAKING THESE PICTURES ON THE MOON.

Jenkins: THE APOLLO CREW UNDERWENT INTENSIVE TRAINING

FOR THE RIGORS AND REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR SPACE MISSION.

BUT LIKE LELAND AND THE SPACE-SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS

WOULD DO IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, THE MEN OF THE APOLLO MISSION

WERE ALSO TRAINED IN THE USE OF THE PHOTO EQUIPMENT

THEY WOULD BE TAKING TO THE MOON.

NASA HAD THESE ASTRONAUTS SPEND YEARS LEARNING

AND USING THE PARTICULAR CAMERAS THEY'D HAVE ON THEIR MISSION.

THEY WERE REQUIRED TO RUN PRACTICE EXERCISES IN PLACES

WHERE THEY COULD TRAIN WITH THE EQUIPMENT IN FULL GEAR

ON GEOLOGIC TERRAIN THAT REPLICATED THE LUNAR SURFACE.

WHY DON'T YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY

IN THOSE PICTURES WE TAKE OF THE MOON, OF SPACE,

AND ASTRO PHOTOGRAPHY.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE EARTH VERSUS ON THE MOON?

WE GOT A LOT OF STARS UP IN THE SKY.

I WANT TO SEE HIM PROVE TO ME

THAT ASTRONAUTS COULDN'T CAPTURE STARS IN THEIR PHOTOS.

♪

WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE EARTH VERSUS ON THE MOON?

PROBABLY NOT A WHOLE LOT.

IT'S BRIGHT AND SUNNY ON THE MOON

WHEN THEY WERE DOING THEIR MOON WALKS.

I THINK THEY PLANNED IT

SO THAT THE MOON WOULD BE ON THE LIT SIDE,

'CAUSE ONCE THAT SIDE OF THE MOON IS IN DARKNESS,

IT'S IN DARKNESS FOR 14 DAYS.

THAT'S THE LUNAR NIGHT, SO THAT'S A LONG TIME.

THEY HAD BRIGHT SUNLIGHT.

IF YOU LOOKED AT ALL THE PICTURES,

THERE WERE SHADOWS FROM BOTH THE ASTRONAUTS, THE LUNAR MODULE.

IT'S THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT THAT REALLY AFFECT THE EXPOSURE

OF THE FILM THE ASTRONAUTS WERE USING.

NASA'S OBJECTIVE WAS TO SHOOT THE MOON,

SO STAN IS USING THE SAME SETTINGS

THAT THE ASTRONAUTS USED.

SO, THREE THINGS REALLY CONTROL THE EXPOSURE,

WHAT THE PICTURE REALLY LOOKS LIKE,

AND IT'S APERTURE, WHICH IS THE F-STOP IN THE LENS.

HOW BIG THE HOLE IS, RIGHT?

RIGHT, HOW BIG OR SMALL.

THE SHUTTER SPEED, WHICH IS HOW FAST THE SHUTTER GOES,

IF IT GOES QUICK OR IF IT DOES SLOW,

OF YOU COULD LEAVE IT OPEN FOR SEVERAL SECONDS SOMETIMES.

FOR A SCENE LIKE THIS, THE SUN IS SHINING,

WE HAVE A NICE MEADOW HERE,

TREES, BLUE SKY, AND SOME NICE CLOUDS.

COULDN'T HAVE PICKED A BETTER DAY, RIGHT?

NO, THIS IS GREAT. THIS IS A GREAT DAY.

SO THE CAMERA METER TELLS ME

I COULD USE A SHUTTER SPEED OF 1/500th OF A SECOND...

-MM-HMM. -...AT F10, WHICH IS ROUGHLY

A DAYTIME EXPOSURE AT THAT ISO.

SO, I'LL TAKE A COUPLE PICTURES OF OUR SCENE HERE.

AND SO WE'LL REMEMBER THAT SETTING,

'CAUSE THIS IS UNDER BRIGHT SUNLIGHT.

DAYTIME ON THE MOON IS PROBABLY EVEN BRIGHTER.

AND A LOCATION WITH A LOT OF LIGHT,

LIKE THE HIGHLY REFLECTIVE LUNAR SURFACE,

YOU'D USE A FAST SHUTTER SPEED AND A SMALL APERTURE.

APOLLO ASTRONAUTS HAD THE CAMERAS

SET TO SHOOT THE BRIGHTER THING, THE MOON,

AT THE COST OF CAPTURING THE DARKNESS

AND STARS THAT SURROUND IT.

I'LL KEEP MY CAMERA AT THIS SETTING, THE 1/500th AND F10,

AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AFTER THE SUN SETS

WHEN WE CAN SEE SOME STARS IN THE SKY.

AND WE'LL TAKE SOME PICTURES OF THE EXACT SAME SCENE,

AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN SEE SOME STARS WITH THIS SETTING.

LET'S DO IT.

STAN'S DEMONSTRATION OF DAYTIME PHOTOGRAPHY

AND LIGHT REFLECTION IS HELPFUL.

BUT TO DO A FULL EXAMINATION,

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY THIS AT NIGHT.

I WANT TO SEE HIM PROVE TO ME

THAT ASTRONAUTS COULDN'T CAPTURE STARS IN THEIR PHOTOS.

♪

BEAUTIFUL NIGHT. PERFECT NIGHT.

YEAH, WE GOT A LOT OF STARS UP IN THE SKY.

GOOD TO SEE THIS.

THE WESTCHESTER ASTRONOMY CLUB COMES OUT HERE

WITH THEIR TELESCOPES TO LOOK AT STARS,

FAINT THINGS THAT WE CAN'T SEE BACK IN NEW YORK CITY.

THE CAMERA IS STILL SET AT THE SAME SETTING

THAT WE TOOK THE PICTURE DURING THE DAYTIME.

DAYLIGHT EXPOSURE, SMALL APERTURE,

A FAST SHUTTER SPEED, AND A LOW ISO.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A PICTURE.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

UNDER DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS,

STAN USED THE SMALL APERTURE AND FAST SHUTTER SPEED.

NOW, AT NIGHT, LELAND AND MIKE CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENS

WHEN THOSE VERY SAME SETTINGS ARE USED AGAIN.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S NOTHING THERE.

YEAH, IT'S PITCH BLACK.

AND SO, THIS EXPOSURE WOULD NOT BE ABLE

TO EXPOSE FOR THE FAINT STARLIGHT.

SIMULATING THE CAMERA SETTINGS

USED BY THE APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUTS,

WE SEE THAT THE RELATIVELY DIM STARS

DON'T GENERATE NEARLY ENOUGH LIGHT TO BE EXPOSED TO FILM.

OKAY.

SO, THE TRUTH IS, THOUGH, IS THAT ON THE MOON,

YOU ARE GONNA HAVE A BUNCH OF BRIGHT SUNLIGHT

SATURATING THE FOREGROUND,

SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE STUFF IN THE FOREGROUND.

RIGHT.

HOW ACCURATE IS THAT IN COMPARISON TO THIS TEST?

IT'S A PRETTY GOOD COMPARISON BECAUSE THE ASTRONAUTS,

WHETHER THEY WERE PHOTOGRAPHING ANOTHER ASTRONAUT

OR A ROCK FORMATION AND THEN THEY GOT THE SKY IN

OR IF THEY JUST POINTED THE CAMERA AT THE SKY,

IT WOULD STILL BE AT THAT SAME DAYLIGHT SETTING.

AND SO THE SKY, WHETHER IT FILLED THE WHOLE PICTURE

OR IF IT JUST FILLED PART OF THE PICTURE,

IT WOULD LOOK THE SAME.

IT WOULD BE BLACK, NO DETAIL, NO STARS.

YEAH, OKAY.

SO, I DO A LOT OF NIGHT-SKY PHOTOGRAPHY,

AND SO, AT NIGHT, OF COURSE, THE SETTINGS ARE MUCH DIFFERENT

BECAUSE THE STARS THEMSELVES ARE VERY, VERY FAINT.

SO I'LL SET UP THE CAMERA, AND WHAT I DO IS INCREASE

THE APERTURES, SLOW DOWN THE SHUTTER.

I DO A 15-SECOND OR LONGER EXPOSURES.

SO, WE HAD 1/500th OF A SECOND SHUTTER SPEED BEFORE.

NOW WE'RE GOING TO 15 SECONDS,

WHICH IS A MUCH, MUCH LONGER SHUTTER SPEED.

YEAH.

Jenkins: LIKE YOUR OWN EYES,

THE APERTURE SETTING ON THE ASTRONAUTS' CAMERAS

COULDN'T ADJUST TO THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE LUNAR SURFACE

AND THE DIMMER STARLIGHT AT THE SAME TIME.

WHEN YOU'RE AT A CONCERT AND THE LIGHTS SUDDENLY BEAM

IN YOUR EYES, WHAT HAPPENS?

YOU CAN'T SEE THE PERFORMERS ON THE STAGE.

THIS IS THAT SAME PRINCIPLE.

SO, I'LL KEEP IT AT THE SAME SCENE.

THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE FOREGROUND IN THE PICTURE,

WHICH WILL PROBABLY SHOW UP MAINLY AS A SILHOUETTE.

AND THEN, THE SKY ABOVE IT WITH THE STARS.

SO WE'LL DO...

A 15-SECOND EXPOSURE.

SO, THE CAMERA IS COLLECTING THE FAINT LIGHT FROM THE STARS.

FOR 15 SECONDS. FOR 15 SECONDS.

YOU NEED THAT LONG TIME.

IF WE USE THIS SETTING DURING THE DAYTIME

WHILE THE SUN WAS UP,

YOUR PICTURE WILL PROBABLY JUST BE PURE WHITE.

THERE'LL BE NOTHING THERE.

AND JUST TO PROVE HIS POINT HE OPENS HIS SHUTTER FOR 15 SECONDS

USING NIGHT SETTINGS AND WE GET STARS IN THE SHOT.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURE HERE.

AND YOU CAN SEE THE STARS.

-WOW. -YEAH, WOW.

Melvin: LOOK AT THAT.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE STAN, WITH HIS EXPERTISE,

HAS NOW SATISFIED YOUR CRAZY LITTLE THEORIES?

MY CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORIES? YEAH.

WELL, I MEAN, I WILL SAY THIS, STAN --

I THINK YOU'VE DEMONSTRATED THAT IT'S REALLY HARD

TO GET A BACKGROUND PICTURE OF THE STARS

UNLESS YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY SET TO DO THAT.

DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE ASTRONAUTS WERE DOING THAT.

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY, AT THIS POINT,

THAT WE HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR WHY THERE'S NO STARS

AT ALL IN THE PICTURES TAKEN FROM THE MOON.

IT'S SCIENCE. WE SOLVED THIS WITH SCIENCE.

YEAH, WITH HIS SCIENCE, NOT YOUR SCIENCE.

IT'S NOT MY SCIENCE, BUT IT'S SCIENCE.

THERE'S NO CONSPIRACY HERE.

THAT'S A POINT FOR LELAND, I GUESS.

Narrator: CAN MASSIVE TELESCOPES BE THE KEY TO FINDING EVIDENCE

THAT PROVES WE WERE ON THE MOON IN 1969?

THIS IS THE BEST IMAGE OF THE MOON.

THE LUNAR LANDER WOULD OCCUPY A SINGLE PIXEL.

ONE PIXEL.

♪

IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN JUST A LESSON IN PHOTOGRAPHY

TO CONVINCE ME WE LANDED ON THE MOON IN '69.

LIKE, ALL THE GEAR THE APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUTS

SUPPOSEDLY LEFT BEHIND.

WHY HAVE WE NEVER SEEN PHOTOS OF THAT?

THERE ARE MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT,

INCLUDING THE ENTIRE LUNAR DESCENT STAGE,

WHICH WE SUPPOSEDLY LEFT ON THE MOON IN '69.

THAT LDS IS 14 FEET ACROSS.

THAT'S BIGGER THAN A CARGO VAN.

BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT PHOTOS OF THAT PART OF THE MOON,

YOU DON'T SEE IT. WHY NOT?

Melvin: WE NEED TO FIND A TELESCOPE

THAT CAN GET US EYES ON THE MOON'S SURFACE.

IF WE CAN SPOT THAT DESCENT STAGE

OR ANY OTHER REFLECTIVE MATERIALS LEFT BEHIND,

WE CAN PROVE A LOT OF THE HOAXERS WRONG.

THE BIGGEST TELESCOPE I KNOW IS RIGHT HERE IN DC

AT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY.

IN OPERATION SINCE 1830,

THE OBSERVATORY MINES ASTRONOMICAL DATA

FOR POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, AND TIMING CRITICAL

TO NAVAL AND DEFENSE DEPARTMENT ASSETS.

EVERY VICE PRESIDENT SINCE 1977 HAS LIVED IN A HOUSE

AT THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY,

BUT WE'RE HERE TO VISIT ANOTHER RESIDENT,

ONE OF THE LARGEST REFRACTING TELESCOPES IN THE WORLD.

YOU KNOW, FOR AN ARMY GUY, I GOT TO GIVE THE NAVY CREDIT.

THIS NAVAL OBSERVATORY IS PRETTY COOL.

♪

-GEOFF? -THAT'S ME.

HEY. HOW YOU DOING? I'M LELAND.

HI, LELAND. NICE TO MEET YOU.

-HEY, GEOFF. -NICE TO MEET YOU.

NICE TO MEET YOU, AS WELL.

GREAT TO SEE THIS.

ISN'T THIS A WONDERFUL INSTRUMENT?

YEAH.

WE'RE MEETING WITH GEOFF CHESTER,

AN ASTRONOMER WHO'S BEEN WITH THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY

FOR 22 YEARS.

THIS IS OUR 12-INCH ALVIN CLARK GEORGE SAEGMULLER REFRACTOR.

YOU GET GREAT VIEWS OF THE MOON AND THE PLANETS WITH THIS.

LET'S START WITH THE BASICS. LET'S CHECK IT OUT.

-ALRIGHT. -LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE.

WOW. LOOK AT THAT.

THE NIGHT SKY.

SO, WE'RE GONNA ALIGN THE TELESCOPE AND THE SLOT.

THAT'S RIGHT.

YEAH, THE MOON, FORTUNATELY, IS A PRETTY EASY TARGET TO HIT,

AT LEAST WITH A TELESCOPE.

THE APOLLO 11 LANDING SITE IS ACTUALLY IN THE CENTER

OF THE FIELD OF VIEW HERE.

SO THAT'S THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY?

THAT'S THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.

Man #4: YOU'RE LOOKING GOOD GOING OVER THE HILL.

IT'S CALLED A SEA BECAUSE EARLY ASTRONOMERS

SAW LARGE DARKER AREAS LIKE THIS ON THE MOON.

THEY MISTOOK THEM FOR BODIES OF WATER.

Man #5: WE ARE GO FOR LANDING, OVER.

Melvin:THE ACTUAL LANDING SITE OF THE APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE

IS NOW REFERRED TO AS TRANQUILITY BASE.

Man #6: CONTACT LIGHT.

OKAY, ENGINES STOP.

HOUSTON, TRANQUILITY BASE HERE.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.

Chester: SO, KEEP IN MIND THAT THE SMALLER CRATERS

THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, THE SORT OF POCK-MARK,

THE SO-CALLED LUNAR SEAS, ARE ACTUALLY PRETTY BIG.

THEY'RE ON THE ORDER OF 5 TO 10 MILES,

THE SMALLEST ONES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

THE BIGGER ONES CAN BE UP TO 100 MILES.

IS THERE A WAY TO GET THIS ZOOMED IN EVEN MORE?

YEAH.

WE'LL PUT ANOTHER EYEPIECE IN AND GET YOU A LITTLE CLOSER.

SO, WHAT MAGNIFICATION IS THIS?

Chester: WE ARE LOOKING NOW WITH A MAGNIFICATION OF ABOUT 90 POWER.

NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'LL NOTICE

IS THAT IT'S KIND OF WAVY.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE LOOKING AT SOMETHING

THAT'S AT THE BOTTOM OF A SWIMMING POOL.

Melvin: LITTLE ATMOSPHERE.

THAT'S DUE TO TURBULENCE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE.

CHAD AND LELAND ARE FINDING THE TELESCOPE LARGE ENOUGH

TO SEARCH THE MOON'S SURFACE FOR REMNANTS OF APOLLO 11.

EVEN IF THEY FIND THE RIGHT TELESCOPE,

I THINK IT'S A DEAD END.

YOU CAN'T SEE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T THERE.

SO, GEOFF, WHAT DISTANCE ARE WE LOOKING AT NOW?

Chester: RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 600 MILES.

600 MILES.

YEAH.

I MEAN, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE MOON

IS A LONG WAY AWAY.

YOU'RE LOOKING ACROSS ALMOST 240,000 MILES OF EMPTY SPACE.

Jenkins: THE FIELD OF VISION IS 600 MILES.

THIS IS LIKE LOOKING AT A SATELLITE PICTURE

OF ALL OF NEW ENGLAND AND TRYING TO SPOT AN SUV.

THERE'S NO WAY WE'D SEE A LUNAR LANDER THAT'S 14 FEET WIDE.

SO, THIS IS AS CLOSE A DETAIL AS WE CAN GET.

Chester: THAT'S ABOUT AS GOOD AS WE'RE GONNA GET.

SO, NO LUNAR LANDER UP THERE, NO AMERICAN FLAG,

THAT I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE WITH THIS.

NOT THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE WITH THIS.

ALL RIGHT.

THE TELESCOPE AT THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY IS ENORMOUS.

AND YET WE STILL CAN'T SEE THE LANDER

AND MATERIALS LEFT ON THE MOON.

YOU KNOW, I WAS REALLY SURPRISED

THAT THE TELESCOPE AT THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY

CAN'T SEE ANY TRACES OF THE MOON-LANDING SITES.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA NEED A MUCH BIGGER TELESCOPE.

YEAH, RIGHT.

AND SO I FOUND ASTRONOMER ALYCIA WEINBERGER HERE IN DC,

AND SHE ACTUALLY USES THE HUBBLE.

-CLEAR THE PIN. -CLEAR THE PIN. MODE SWITCH IS IN OFF.

Jenkins: ON APRIL 24, 1990, THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SUCCESSFULLY

LAUNCHED THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE INTO ORBIT.

OH, BABY, LOOK AT THAT.

Man #8: HUBBLE ISN'T JUST A SATELLITE.

IT'S ABOUT HUMANITY'S QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE.

Jenkins: THE HUBBLE WAS THE FIRST MAJOR TELESCOPE

TO BE PLACED IN SPACE

ABOVE THE DISTORTION OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE,

WEATHER, AND LIGHT POLLUTION.

WITH AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE,

SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO USE THE HUBBLE

TO OBSERVE THE MOST DISTANT STARS, GALAXIES,

AND PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

IT HAS EVEN VIEWED LOCATIONS

MORE THAN 13 BILLION LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH.

WHAT THE HUBBLE CAN DO HAS BEEN COMPARED

TO STANDING IN WASHINGTON, DC, AND SEEING A FIREFLY IN TOKYO.

SO IT SHOULD BE ABLE TO REVEAL OBJECTS ON THE MOON,

BUT WILL IT?

Jenkins: ALYCIA IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST

AT THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE

WHOSE RESEARCH WORK UTILIZES THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

TO OBSERVE AND STUDY DISTANT GALAXIES.

SOMETHING AS CLOSE AS THE MOON SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM.

WE'RE HOPING SHE CAN HELP US SEE THE APOLLO GEAR

THE ASTRONAUTS LEFT ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.

-ALYCIA. -HI.

HOW ARE YOU? I'M CHAD.

NICE TO MEET YOU. YEAH, NICE TO MEET YOU.

HI. VERY NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.

YEAH, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF MYSTERIES

INVOLVING THE ORIGINAL MOON LANDING.

AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT

AND SEEING IF YOU COULD HELP US ON

IS THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE APOLLO 11 LANDING ON THE MOON.

IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL

ON AN ORDINARY PICTURE OF THE MOON

THAT YOU WOULD TAKE FROM THE GROUND.

WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT AN IMAGE OF THE MOON

AND SEE ROUGHLY WHERE IT IS.

OKAY. LET'S DO IT.

HERE WE HAVE THAT TRANQUILITY AREA.

THAT'S THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY?

THAT'S THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.

SO THAT'S ABOUT 876 KILOMETERS ACROSS OR 550 MILES.

THE LANDER WAS A FEW METERS ACROSS,

SO IT'S ABOUT 300,000 TIMES SMALLER

THAN THE SIZE OF THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL IMAGE. IT WAS TAKEN FROM THE GROUND.

WHAT LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO SEE DETAIL

IS THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE,

WHICH BLURS EVERYTHING THAT WE LOOK AT.

YOU COULD TRY TO GO ABOVE THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE,

AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE BUILT THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE.

HST, RIGHT. RIGHT.

NOW, THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

WAS NOT MEANT TO LOOK AT THE MOON.

NORMALLY, THE HUBBLE WOULD USE STARS TO KEEP IT LINED UP

EXACTLY WHERE IT WANTS TO POINT.

WELL, IT CAN'T FIND ANY STARS BECAUSE THE MOON FILLS

THE ENTIRE FIELD OF VIEW OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,

SO IT CAN'T STARE AT ONE SPOT VERY EASILY

WITHOUT DRIFTING ACROSS THE MOON,

BUT IT CAN TAKE FAST IMAGES.

AND THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

IS STILL A MODEST-SIZED TELESCOPE,

SO IT'S 2 1/2 METERS ACROSS.

SO YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER

WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE BUT STILL,

WHILE THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY WOULD LOOK VERY BIG

TO THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,

THE FEW METERS ACROSS THAT THE LUNAR LANDER

WAS WOULD OCCUPY A SINGLE PIXEL...

OH, MY GOODNESS.

...ON THE BEST IMAGE THAT THE HUBBLE

SPACE TELESCOPE COULD TAKE.

-ONE PIXEL. -YES.

MUCH SMALLER, IN FACT, THAN ONE PIXEL.

WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICAN FLAG?

I WANT TO SEE AMERICA, OLD GLORY.

AND HOW BIG WAS THE AMERICAN FLAG

COMPARED TO THE LUNAR LANDER?

3 FEET. IT WAS ABOUT 3 FEET.

-SO, STILL NO EVIDENCE. -NO EVIDENCE FROM HERE.

DO YOU THINK IT'S THERE? I DO THINK IT'S THERE,

BUT WE CAN'T TAKE A PICTURE OF IT FROM HERE.

UH-HUH.

Jenkins: WELL, THE INVESTIGATION MUST GO ON.

WE'LL HAVE TO REFOCUS OUR INVESTIGATION

IF WE WANT TO SEE THE MATERIALS LEFT ON THE MOON.

Bara: WE HAVE THIS VERY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.

WE HAVE THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,

AND YET NOBODY CAN GET A GOOD, CLEAR PICTURE

OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND BY THE APOLLO MISSION.

IT'S ALL A MATTER OF LENSES AND MIRRORS.

♪

Jenkins: SO, NO MATTER WHAT TELESCOPES WE VISITED,

WE STILL CAN'T SEE EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING LEFT BEHIND

FROM THE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING.

THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH CLARITY.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FUELS

THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, TOO.

IT MAKES THEM SAY, "IF THIS IS THERE, WHY CAN'T YOU SEE IT?"

THE PROBLEM IS, CHAD AND LELAND WENT TO PEOPLE WHO WORK

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OR THE SPACE PROGRAM.

I'M TAKING THEM TO AN INDEPENDENT, SOMEONE I KNOW

AND TRUST WHO WON'T JUST REPEAT EMPTY CLAIMS AND HALF-TRUTHS.

HE CAN EXPLAIN WHY OR WHY NOT IN REGARD

TO SEEING NASA MATERIALS ON THE MOON.

HEY, LOOK, WE GOT SOME COMPANY.

-THERE HE IS. -HEY, GUYS. HOW ARE YOU DOING?

I'M ALEX. -I'M MIKE.

ALEX, I'M LELAND.

MIKE HAS BROUGHT US TO SAN FRANCISCO

TO MEET WITH ALEX FILIPPENKO.

ALEX IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST AT UC, BERKELEY,

WHO'S FREQUENTLY USED THE HUBBLE

AND THE KECK TELESCOPE IN HAWAII,

ONE OF THE LARGEST ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPES IN THE WORLD.

WE'RE HOPING HE CAN INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY OR DENY

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS CLAIMING,

THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO VIEW THE EQUIPMENT

THAT WAS LEFT NEAR TRANQUILITY.

ALEX, HOW YOU DOING? PRETTY WELL.

IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT HERE.

YOU DON'T GO TO THE GOVERNMENT TO TELL YOU

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT'S DONE.

WE'RE FINALLY GETTING INFO FROM AN INDEPENDENT SOURCE.

I KNOW ALEX WON'T FEED US MORE CLAPTRAP AND COVER-UPS.

SO, I KNOW YOU'RE USUALLY STUDYING

DISTANT GALAXIES AND SPACE.

BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH A LITTLE BIT CLOSER FRIEND OF OURS,

THE MOON. SURE.

YEAH, THAT'S IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD --

YOU KNOW, 240,000 MILES --

BUT STILL PRETTY FAR TO SEE DETAILS.

I GUESS OUR BIGGEST QUESTION IS THE ACCUSATION THAT,

BECAUSE WE HAD THESE LARGE TELESCOPES HERE

BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE TO SEE ANYTHING ON THE MOON WITH THEM.

YEAH, THE CLAIM IS, WE HAVE THIS VERY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY,

WE HAVE THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE,

WE'VE GOT THE JWST TELESCOPE,

WE'VE GOT ALL THESE OTHER INSTRUMENTS,

AND YET NOBODY CAN GET A GOOD, CLEAR PICTURE

OF THE ACTUAL EQUIPMENT

THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND BY THE APOLLO MISSION.

IT'S ALL A MATTER OF LENSES AND MIRRORS.

THESE TELESCOPES CAN SEE PRETTY CLEARLY,

BUT IT'S A LITTLE BIT LIKE YOU'RE AT THE EYE DOCTOR

AND YOU'RE ASKED TO LOOK AT THE ROWS OF LETTERS,

AND THE BOTTOM ROW IS EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE OUT.

THE LETTERS BECOME TOO FUZZY FOR YOU TO DISTINGUISH

BECAUSE ALL LENSES, INCLUDING THOSE IN YOUR EYES

OR TELESCOPES, HAVE LIMITATIONS.

WITHOUT HAVING A SUPER-HUGE LENS OR MIRROR,

YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE TINY DETAILS.

YOU'D NEED TO HAVE THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

WITH ITS 8-FOOT-DIAMETER MIRROR WITHIN 14,000 MILES OF THE MOON

TO JUST SEE THE LANDER AS A SPEC.

Jenkins: THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE IS ONLY 353 MILES AWAY FROM EARTH,

SO IT'S STILL ALMOST A QUARTER OF A MILLION MILES

AWAY FROM THE MOON,

NOT THE LESS THAN 14,000 MILES ALEX SAYS IT NEEDS TO BE,

TO BEGIN SHOWING ANYTHING THE SIZE OF THE LUNAR LANDER.

THE BIG TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT, EVEN WITH TODAY'S

BEST TELESCOPES, THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE ORBITING

ABOVE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE AND HAVING A VERY CLEAR VIEW

OR THE 10-METER KECK TELESCOPES IN HAWAII,

WHICH HAVE REALLY GREAT CLARITY,

THOSE TELESCOPES CANNOT SEE THE KINDS OF DETAIL

THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY

TO DISTINGUISH THE LANDER ON THE MOON.

WE CAN SEE CRATERS ON THE MOON,

BUT CRATERS ARE DOZENS OF MILES ACROSS.

THE LANDER IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF AN SUV.

WE'RE JUST NOT THERE YET.

YOU'D NEED A TELESCOPE PERHAPS 50 YARDS IN DIAMETER

TO SEE THE LANDER, AND EVEN THEN,

YOU WOULDN'T NOTICE ANY REAL DETAILS, LIKE ITS SHAPE.

WITH NO EARTH-BASED OR SATELLITE-BASED TELESCOPES

CAPABLE OF THE DETAIL NECESSARY TO SHOW EQUIPMENT ON THE MOON,

I REMAIN CONVINCED THAT THERE'S NO APOLLO 11 MODULE ON THE MOON

AND HOLDING FIRM THAT THE '69 LANDING DIDN'T HAPPEN.

ALTHOUGH WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE APOLLO LANDER

USING ANY TELESCOPES HERE ON EARTH,

THERE ARE LUNAR-ORBITING TELESCOPES

THAT HAVE SEEN THE LANDER.

YOU CAN LOOK AT THE PICTURES, AND THERE IT IS.

ALEX LEFT US WITH A GREAT PIECE OF ADVICE,

TO MOVE PAST TELESCOPIC DATA AND INVESTIGATE THE ORBITER

AND THE FINDINGS FOR ONE OF THE MOST

TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED CAMERAS IN SPACE.

WE'LL BE SHIFTING OUR FOCUS TO INVESTIGATING IMAGES OF SPACE

THAT COMES FROM SPACE.

Narrator: CAN SATELLITE IMAGES PROVIDE PROOF OF THE MOON LANDING.

THERE'S EVIDENCE THERE.

Bara: LOOKS LIKE EVIDENCE OF A BOULDER TO ME.

WHOA!

CAMERA. -HOLD ON.

♪

WHAT A STRANGE TRIP THIS ONE'S BEEN.

WE WENT TO OBSERVATORIES, WE LOOKED THROUGH TELESCOPES,

WE TALKED TO ASTRONOMERS, TALKED TO ASTROPHYSICISTS,

LEARNED THAT THE MOON LANDING TAPES ARE MISSING,

AND WHY THERE ARE NO STARS IN THE MOON PHOTOGRAPHY.

STILL NO CLEAR EVIDENCE OF THE MOON LANDING.

POINT FOR ME.

YEAH, BUT IN SAN FRANCISCO,

WE REALIZED THAT THERE'S NO TELESCOPE ON EARTH

THAT CAN SEE THE APOLLO SITES.

THEY'RE JUST TOO SMALL.

Jenkins: IT'S TIME TO SHIFT OUR FOCUS FROM TELESCOPES

TO THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED CAMERAS

WE'VE GOT IN SPACE.

THE LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER,

OR LRO, IS A ROBOTIC SPACECRAFT

NASA LAUNCHED ABOARD AN ATLAS V ROCKET IN 2009.

Man #9: AND LIFTOFF OF THE ATLAS V ROCKET WITH LRO LCROSS.

THE INITIAL EXPLORATION PHASE OF ITS MISSION

TO IMAGE BACK THE MOON,

SEARCHING OUT SAFE, HIGH-VALUE TERRAIN

FOR FUTURE LANDINGS LASTED A YEAR.

SINCE THEN, THE LRO HAS TRANSITIONED

TO ITS SCIENCE PHASE --

GATHERING DATA TO HELP NASA EVEN BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MOON.

ITS INSTRUMENT PANEL DOWNLINKS

ROUGHLY 460 GIGABYTES OF DATA PER DAY,

DELIVERED TO NASA'S OWN PLANETARY DATA SYSTEM.

♪

THE CRAFT HAS A SYSTEM OF THREE HIGH-RESOLUTION CAMERAS

MOUNTED TO IT, TWO NARROW-ANGLE CAMERAS

THAT CAN PROVIDE IMAGES

COVERING ABOUT A 3-MILE SWATH AND A WIDE-ANGLE CAMERA

PROVIDING COVERAGE OF MORE THAN 37 MILES.

SINCE THE LRO IS ORBITING JUST A FEW DOZEN MILES

OVER THE LUNAR SURFACE,

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES IT SENDS BACK

WOULD BE VASTLY MORE DETAILED

THAN ANY TELESCOPIC IMAGE WE'VE SEEN.

THE LRO HAS PROVIDED NASA SCIENTISTS

WITH SCORES OF NEW DISCOVERIES,

INCLUDING SUBSURFACE HYDROGEN DEPOSITS

IN REGIONS COLD ENOUGH FOR ICE TO SURVIVE.

THE FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE OF THE PRESENCE

OF HIGHLY SILICIC VOLCANIC MOON ROCKS

AND THE FIRST-EVER RADAR MEASUREMENTS

OF THE MOON'S FAR SIDE.

THE LUNAR ORBITER PROGRAM BEGAN WITH FIVE SUCCESSFUL

UNMANNED LUNAR ORBIT MISSIONS IN 1966 THROUGH 1967.

THEY WERE OUTFITTED WITH MORE THAN JUST THE CAMERAS

NECESSARY FOR IMAGING.

THEY WERE SELF-CONTAINED FLOATING ROBOTIC PHOTO LABS.

THE 70-MILLIMETER FILM COULD BE PROCESSED

AND SCANNED BY THE ORBITER

BEFORE IT WOULD BEAM THE IMAGES BACK TO EARTH.

IN ADDITION TO MOON PHOTOGRAPHY, ORBITERS ON THOSE 1960s MISSIONS

PROVIDED SOME OF THE FIRST-EVER IMAGES

OF THE WHOLE EARTH FROM SPACE.

LET'S GO LOOK AT THE RESULTS.

EXCUSE ME IF I'M SKEPTICAL.

OH, LOOK.

THERE'S EVIDENCE THERE, PROOF THAT THE APOLLO

LANDING SITE FROM THIS LRO IMAGE.

LOOKS LIKE EVIDENCE OF A BOULDER TO ME, ACTUALLY.

ALRIGHT, LET'S KEEP LOOKING.

AT FIRST GLANCE, YES, THESE PHOTOS

ARE FAR MORE DETAILED THAN ANYTHING WE'VE SEEN BEFORE,

BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

COULD BE A BOULDER, COULD BE A SHADOW,

COULD BE DUST ON THE LENS.

LELAND'S POINTING AT THINGS

AND JUST HOPING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING THERE.

ALRIGHT, LET'S KEEP LOOKING.

-WHOA. -CAMERA.

HOLD ON.

LUNAR MODULE, LOOK AT THAT.

THE LUNAR MODULE RIGHT THERE.

THEY'RE IN TRACKS THERE.

LUNAR ROVER TRACKS.

FOR THE FIRST TIME... COME ON.

LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE WE -- STATION 11.

EAGLE DESCENT STAGE.

LOOK AT THAT, RIGHT THERE.

YOU STILL DON'T BELIEVE?

OKAY, NOW, THAT -- LOOK AT THAT -- THE FLAG.

YEAH. THERE ARE TRACKS THERE.

THAT'S CLEARLY MANMADE.

AND LOOK -- LOOK AT THE OUTLINE OF THE LUNAR.

THAT'S THE DESCENT STAGE.

YEAH, THE DESCENT STAGE.

Jenkins: NOW WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME EVIDENCE,

PROOF OF THE APOLLO 11 LANDING.

THE LRO IMAGES DEFINITELY SHOWED THE OBJECTS

WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

WE CAN EVEN SEE THE SHADOWS THAT THEY CAST.

"A," FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS INVESTIGATION,

WE HAVE VERIFIABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF

OF MAN'S PRESENCE ON THE MOON.

YEAH. OKAY, I'LL --

I'LL ADMIT YOU GUYS GOT ME ON THIS ONE,

BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FACT

THAT NASA DID GET TO THE MOON EVENTUALLY.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT APOLLO 11 WAS A LEGITIMATE LANDING.

THE LRO PHOTOS ONLY PROVED THAT WE'VE BEEN TO THE MOON,

BUT THEY DON'T PROVE THAT THOSE ARE REMNANTS OF A 1969 LANDING,

THAT THE US WAS READY TO GET THERE BY JFK's DEADLINE.

WHAT WE'VE GOT IS, WE'VE GOT NO VISUAL EVIDENCE,

NO VIDEO LEFT OF APOLLO 11

THAT PROVES THAT WE ACTUALLY WENT WAY BACK IN 1969

BECAUSE WE SIMPLY WEREN'T READY TO GO TO THE MOON YET.

WE'RE OBTAINING SOLID, FACTUAL EVIDENCE OF THE '69 LANDING,

AND MIKE STILL REFUSES TO FACE REALITY.

WE HAVE TO CURE HIM OF HIS SKEPTICISM.

Jenkins: OUR INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE.

♪