Independent evidence[edit]
In this section are only those observations that are completely independent of NASA—no NASA facilities were used, and there was no NASA funding. Each of the countries mentioned in this section (
Soviet Union,
Japan,
China, and
India) has its own
space program, builds its own
space probes which are launched on their own
launch vehicles, and has its own deep space communication network.
SELENE photographs[edit]
In 2008, the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
SELENE lunar probe obtained several
photographs showing evidence of Moon landings.
[1] On the left are two photos taken on the lunar surface by
Apollo 15 astronauts in July or August 1971. On the right is a 2008 reconstruction from images taken by the SELENE terrain camera and
3D projected to the same vantage point as the surface photos. The terrain is a close match within the SELENE camera resolution of 10 metres.
The light-coloured area of blown lunar surface dust created by the lunar module engine blast at the Apollo 15 landing site was photographed and confirmed by comparative analysis of photographs in May 2008. They correspond well to photographs taken from the Apollo 15
Command/Service Module showing a change in surface reflectivity due to the plume. This was the first visible trace of manned landings on the
Moon seen from space since the close of the
Apollo program.
Chandrayaan-1[edit]
As with SELENE, the Terrain Mapping Camera of India's
Chandrayaan-1 probe did not have enough
resolution to record Apollo hardware. Nevertheless, as with SELENE, Chandrayaan-1 independently recorded evidence of
lighter, disturbed soil around the Apollo 15 site.
[2][3]
Chang'e 2[edit]
China's second lunar probe,
Chang'e 2, which was launched in 2010 is capable of capturing lunar surface images with a resolution of up to 1.3 metres. It claims to have spotted traces of the Apollo landings, though the relevant imagery has not been publicly identified.
[4]
Apollo missions tracked by independent parties[edit]
Aside from NASA, a number of entities and individuals observed, through various means, the Apollo missions as they took place. On later missions, NASA released information to the public explaining where third party observers could expect to see the various craft at specific times according to scheduled launch times and planned trajectories.
[5]
Observers of all missions[edit]
The Soviet Union monitored the missions at their Space Transmissions Corps, which was "fully equipped with the latest intelligence-gathering and surveillance equipment."
[6] Vasily Mishin, in an interview for the article "The Moon Programme That Faltered," describes how the Soviet Moon programme dwindled after the Apollo landing.
[7]
The missions were tracked by radar from several countries on the way to the Moon and back.
[8]
Kettering Grammar School[edit]
A group at
Kettering Grammar School, using simple radio equipment, monitored Soviet and U.S.
spacecraft and calculated their orbits.
[9][10] In 1972 a member of the group tracked
Apollo 17 on its way to the Moon.
[11]
