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Featured Image Credit: NASA
A post comparing footage from a Moon landing in 1972 to the arrival of a craft there last year has left viewers shocked over which event is ‘clearer’.
Today (23 February), the first ever privately-owned craft landed on the Moon’s surface in what NASA administrator Bill Nelson described as a ‘giant leap forward for all of humanity’.
Footage compares 1972 Moon landing to 2023
Credit: NASA/ISRO
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The arrival of the Intuitive Machines’ craft marked the first US lander to successfully reach the moon in more than 50 years, and it came six months after India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission reached the Moon last August.
With the latest landing sparking conversation about the Moon, one particular post on the topic has gained more attention than others.
It comes from the X account ‘Historic Vids’, which shared side-by-side views of the Moon landing more than 50 years ago compared to India’s landing in 2023.
Given that the internet was still years away from being invented when the last humans step foot on the moon in 1972, it’s safe to say technology has come a long, long way in the decades since their last visit.
With that in mind, you’d expect footage of last year’s landing to be a world away from video caught back in 1972, right?
Well, you’d be right – but not in the way you might think.
As the two videos were put side by side, viewers were shocked to see that the one from 1972 actually seemed ‘clearer’.
“Why are the images from 1972 clearer than what we have now,” one confused person asked, while another wrote: “There’s no way 1972 quality is better.”
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“We got way better cameras and it looks clearer and not as delayed in 1972,” another wrote.
Though the comparison clearly caused some confusion, other social media users were quick to offer an explanation for the vast differences in quality.
Since astronauts in 1972 didn’t have the tech we have today – or six months ago – they filmed their experience on the Moon using physical 16mm film which was then flown back down to Earth.
But rather than making us wait for the footage, the landing last year was actually broadcast from space – making the lower quality that much more excusable.
X users explained the difference between the videos for those who were still confused, with one person writing: “I suspect [1972 looks clearer] because the current images are broadcast to us, the other footage was filmed and brought back with the astronauts.”
So we can rest assured that technology hasn’t gone backwards in the last 50+ years, and instead enjoy the wonder of the Moon from a camera actually positioned up there as it happens.
NASA has received laser and radio messages from deep in space
Over the past few months, the US space agency have been using its Psyche spacecraft to test a new communication system.
NASA receive laser from 10 million miles away
Credit: YouTube/ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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The probe’s main objective is to visit an asteroid of the same name, but has been sending laser messages back to Earth in the meantime.
This is being done through Deep Space Optical Communications, which a near-infrared laser sends messages back to Earth.
It was first tested in November when a laser signal was detected from 10 million miles away.
Among the messages sent was a cat video – because who doesn’t love a cat video?
The advantage of DSOC over radio is that better bandwidth speeds mean that data can be received quicker.
But due to some technological challenges, NASA researchers are considering a combination of radio and laser to be the best option.
The latest test received data from twice as far as the previous test, from 32 million kilometers (20 million miles).
On January 1, they downloaded a picture of the Psyche team at a rate of 15.63 megabits per second – 40 times faster than standard radio frequency.
In a statement, Amy Smith, NASA’S Deep Space Network Deputy manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: “Our hybrid antenna has been able to successfully and reliably lock onto and track the DSOC downlink since shortly after the tech demo launched.
“It also received Psyche’s radio frequency signal, so we have demonstrated synchronous radio and optical frequency deep space communications for the first time.”
A small device made up of seven hexagonal mirror was fitted onto the existing antenna.
“It’s a high-tolerance optical system built on a 34-meter [112-foot] flexible structure,” said Barzia Tehrani, communications ground systems deputy manager and delivery manager for the hybrid antenna at JPL.
“We use a system of mirrors, precise sensors, and cameras to actively align and direct laser from deep space into a fiber reaching the detector.”
The hope is that NASA will be able to track Psyche when it is 2.5 times the distance Earth is from the Sun.
“For decades, we have been adding new radio frequencies to the DSN’s giant antennas located around the globe, so the most feasible next step is to include optical frequencies,” said Tehrani.
“We can have one asset doing two things at the same time; converting our communication roads into highways and saving time, money, and resources.”
This article was originally published on: https://www.unilad.com/
