We've recently celebrated the success of Apollo 11's mission, first man to walk on our moon. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I believe they want up there, walked around, I definitely do. However, I want to submit the following pictures, following by a brief discussion.
The first is of Aldrin coming down the ladder to the surface.
The second is a shot of the LEM, Lunar Excursion Module, or Lunar Lander, The Eagle.
And lastly, a still from the video footage of Armstrong making his first descent.
So. Discussion time.
Where's the camera during Armstrong's historic first step? Based on the previous pictures, and the angle, we can guess that it may possibly be on the next "leg" of the LEM about 3 feet up.
I say possibly, because I'm not sure that's where it was at all. I think it was somewhere completely different.
I believe the camera was in Buzz Aldrin's hands.
Here's why.
One, at that relative height and angle, I think if a camera where on the another landing leg, the shot would have contained more of the LEM body itself.
Two, I think the angle is slightly off. Looking at it, I think that angle would be farther off than the leg actually is. Not by much, maybe about how wide a human body is?
Three, the LEMs were practically tin foil. Would they really have engineered a camera to fit on one leg, unbalancing that one leg? Or if it's somehow on the body, engineered it there? And for that matter, do you think NASA would have risked losing the camera in transit by having it affixed to the LEM?
Four, in that vein, would NASA risk looking bad by going out "cold"? Considering the space race's origins and motivations weren't entirely scientific but politically charged, would they have risked having a major screw up like that as they were about to triumph?
My thought is this. I don't think Aldrin was out first. I think Neil Armstrong did indeed come out first. But not when we thought. I think they did a "dry run." Neil came out, Aldrin came out. Things were "all clear." Aldrin grabbed the camera, and the "historic moment" took place. No real harm, to me anyway. More like justifiable prudence and a little white lying.
But I tell you what, if that's what really happened, it makes Armstrong flubbing his line all that more funny (if you didn't know, he meant to say "That's one small step for *A* man, one giant leap for mankind).
