@fostonpete

It's really, really hard to hit and took a while to get a decent return signal even with a big ass pulsed laser that sounded like a small machine gun.

Did you see text above, as talk is about single photons, not just weak signal.

I talked to two guys who immigrated into EU and US and kind of participated in experiments that involved reflectors in some part (as tech guys and not very direct), but as soon as they started asking out general details about results (not about nice paper reports), about reflectors, signal levels - all instantly turned into big hostility towards them, they had been told to shut up and "understand importance of our mission".

Yes, even the landing video flying over the moon in first video looks like plaster of paris with air bubbles :)

China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission has successfully landed on the near side of the Moon, near Mons Rümker, a volcanic complex in the northern region of Oceanus Procellarum, on 1 December 2020, at 15:11 UTC (23:11 China Standard Time). The Chang’e-5 lander will attempt to collect about 2kg of soil samples and return them to Earth.

By the time the beam bounces off the mirror and returns to Earth, it has widened to about 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter. This beam dispersion makes it more difficult to view the reflection.

The reflector itself doesn't require any power, which is why it's still operating decades after other instruments on the moon fell silent. This instrument includes 100 "corner cubes" (or fused silica half-cubes), which are placed in an 18-inch-square (46 centimeters square) aluminum panel, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It's due to the shape of these corner cubes that any laser shot at them reflects light directly back.

"Once the laser beam hits a reflector, scientists at the observatories use sensitive filtering and amplification equipment to detect any return signal," JPL said. "The reflected light is too weak to be seen with the human eye, but under good conditions, one photon, the fundamental particle of light, will be received every few seconds."

Observations must be made over several hours to account for the weak signal.

Actually it means it is zero proof that reflectors play any role it getting "one particle of light" here.

@Psyco

Just ask somebody you know at an observatory to point one of there teleskope lasers at the given coordinates - and see if there is a reflection. Let us know about the result.

You just repeating mass media bullshit.

If you think a little, in our reality laser spot size at such distances is huge (even for best focused lasers), reflector is not even surface that is directly perpendicular to your location (so it'll reflect this tiny amount of radiation into some random spot in space), real moon has quite high albedo and it'll actually reflect 99,9% of remaining part of your laser radiation (just at random directions, so not big amount will get back, but it will be much much more compared to even perfect reflector). So it is real total mess.

In reality all measurement are being done similar to how laser distance meter is working in life (but lot of things are very different!). So, yes, reflection from the moon ground is used.

You can make experiment with laser and any random oriented(! this is important) reflector placed only few hundred meters to 2km from you, you won't get a shit.

Btw watch how Chinese are doing all stages of flight and will do landing and how it is huge sharp contrast with Apollo fake bravado.

@Psyco

This reflectors are quite fun, NASA even paid to Big Bang Theory authors to make episode on showing how they can be used. Just some time after this authors told that all had been total lie (they can't be used such as showed and it is actually big issue with this reflectors and if they are actually present), but "it helped in our war with moon landing deniers".

NASA makes you think like it is simple and no biggie and it is "total proof". But if you dig deeper - it is mess. Modern (last 5 years) instructions for NASA sponsored guys is not to use them and do not go into even mentioning them.

@Nino_Ilacqua

Arguments in this thing are quite old.

Falsification of landing is pretty cheap to do and not require any CGI.

Do not know about US, but even is distant Mordor we have 4-5 widely known people who get full time salary (around 4-5x of salary of same local offers) and their official job is go around and support NASA (both offline and online, as it is full time job). Some of them are required to make similar videos and send reports of their doings. One of them some years ago openly told that all 100% of photos, arguments and video parts had been sent to him directly by NASA (but they asked that is should be presented as independent arguments). Officially NASA is not involved in all this directly, btw and always deny it.

@radikalfilm

these are very tall claims to make! Not only the entire Apollo program, but much of the Mercury program too would have to have been faked!

It is actually only very mild statements. But causes had been purely technical and organization. yes, and von Braun played big role also.

Disputing the actual landings is one thing, disputing orbital capability is quite another. Not even Sputnik (the Kremlin propaganda media agency) would dare making the claims you make, for which of course you have no evidence.

Disputing US moon program actually (in all serious guys whom I checked) start from early suborbital flights (US had been also open that they are suborbital).

You will be surprised, but actually guys who infiltrated soviet space program worked hard to destroy as much as they can. Now our space agency is mostly bad joke that live on the remains of great institutions and factories, but they are going down one by one. Recently they closed in Moscow some core of them as making cheap buildings and selling them via credits is more profitable for new owners (in the range of 3-4 years until they will flee into EU).

What about the Soviet program, Vitaliy? Did the Laika doggie make orbit? Did Gagarin make orbit? If he did, why couldn't von Braun replicate what the USSR-bound portion of his Peenemünde team achieved?

All is ok with soviet program. CIA and NASA had direct access for around 4-5 years during early 90s to check and steal lot of stufff.

Because USSR made huge new industry with tens of thousands of new specialists and hundreds of factories, at least 15 new big science research facilities, contrary to US, who still focused on von Braun.

USSR started to be worse in computers and electronics, but only due to the fact that elite group who finally made USSR destruction in 86-91 years already got tight grip on this sector in late 60th (but due to organization they did't have access to some military part of electronics and corresponding factories).

Important aspect also is geography, as US did not care so much on efficient very long range missiles (having much better carriers, bombers and ability to put nuclear missiles in EU).

@jleo

As NASA at the Apollo time still couldn't even make rocket to go around the earth one time (all rockets, including all Apollo ones just fall into ocean not getting enough attitude) - they did not care.

People are more likely to develop health issues with extended time in space, such as cardiovascular and sleep disruptions. But why? Scientists might have an idea. They’ve published research indicating that mitochondria, the energy-producing “powerhouses” of cells, may play a key role. Bodily fluid samples from many other astronauts also supported claims that mitochondrial activity changed while in space.

The potential breakthrough came in part thanks to NASA’s open-source GeneLab platform.

The findings reinforce concerns that astronauts could face significant health challenges going forward, particularly for trips to the Moon and Mars. The discovery could be crucial to overcoming those problems, however.

Note that all 100% NASA fake moon trips had zero health issues and overall they felt like even better than before the trips.

Problem had been that NASA at the time had zero knowledge of real problems that happen during such trip.

I don’t think many would give a shit in the US if this is the case. Personal identity for most here is so so far removed from that kind of nationalism on technology. The new god here is the self not the nation. Selfish motherfuckers here.

@Psyco "so many possibilities" exactly, however I don't think there's a scenario where the Chinese could prove beyond doubt the US landings didn't happen, even if it were actually true. They'd be "cancelled", explained away, or dismissed as propaganda. All they could do convincingly is confirm the landings did happen, if they actually did :-)

This mirror that you speak of, does it have known coordinates? Can anyone with the proper laser and targeting bounce a signal off it? This is independent 3rd party confirmation. Still, the mirror could just be on the back of a rover, and rovers have been done for sure, by the US, USSR, and recently China.

If it wasn't faked, they would find artifacts left on the moon, including:

Bottom half of Lunar Module/Lander

TV camera

Tools, shovels

Objects and equipment for scientific experiments

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)

Various personal artifacts, golf balls, Apollo 16 Charles Duke’s family photo

Disposal Bags of human waste

US Flag

footprints on surface, if not worn away

If faked, where did the moon rocks come from? A meteorite from Papua New Guinea?

If faked, Biden has to really rush to plant those things on the moon ASAP :)