Letter to the Editor: Yes, we landed on the moon

Dear Editor:

I would like to respond to the letter "Moon Hoax" (Aug. 18, 2016).

First, the age was wrong. The moon landing was 47 years ago, not 57, as stated in the letter.

Second, the suggestion to aim a spy satellite at the moon to see the moon landing sites probably would not work. The camera would be looking 200,000 miles through space instead of 200 miles through the atmosphere for which it was designed so the images would be 1,000 times too small and out of focus. 

Third, images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are not difficult to discern, although it helps to maximize the computer window and sometimes use a magnifying glass. I first found and printed a labeled map ot the Apollo 11 landing site for reference. I then went to iroc.asu.edu (select Images, then Featured Sites, then Apollo 11) and had a lot of fun using the Flip Book of Apollo 11 to adjust the Sun angle. It is easy to tell craters from rocks by the reflection and shadow pattern.

Since the images making up the flipbook are of the same location on the moon but taken from different positions in space, each image is from a slightly different point of view. The reflections from the remaining half of the Lunar Module from these different points of view show that it is the Lunar Module. However, the shadows were a little confusing at first until I looked at an image of the remaining half from Apollo 17 and saw how the top was constructed.

Fourth, the moon landings did occur. The real moon hoax is that there was a moon hoax.

Wayne Stevens
Downey