Now, can we move on to more useful baseless speculation such as why this interference was more prominent on the other side of the moon?
If they were 100.000% sure it was just onboard radio interference, it wouldn't have been classified.
There is a lot of discussion on here about why these tapes were classified. The problem is I haven't seen any good sources that they were classified to begin with.
Quote from: meberbs on 02/23/2016 02:15 pmThere is a lot of discussion on here about why these tapes were classified. The problem is I haven't seen any good sources that they were classified to begin with. See the front page of NASA's Apollo 10 Lunar Module (LM) Onboard Voice Transcription:Group 4, Downgraded at 3 Year Intervals, Declassified After 12 YearsThis material contains information affecting the national defense of the United States within the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18, U.S.C. section 793 and 794. The transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.(Of course that applies to the entire transcript, not just certain portions, so the current references to the audio being classified are to the whole recording, not just the radio interference section specifically.)
-SNIP-Still, I remain curious: we know that NASA had a policy in place to deal with extraterrestrial life--albeit at the microbial level. Thus, the question remains: Was there (and is there) a NASA policy for dealing with close encounters with actual space-faring intelligent aliens? NASA would seem almost remiss in their duties if there was not such a policy in place, given the relative state of ignorance regarding the rest of the Solar System at the time; after all, the US Air Force was still running Project Blue Book!
NASA does not and never has had a policy for dealing with aliens. Nor does any other spacefaring nation.
No branch of the United States Government is currently involved with or responsible for investigations into the possibility of alien life on other planets or for investigating Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO's). The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and NASA have had intermittent, independent investigations of the possibility of alien life on other planets; however, none of these has produced factual evidence that life exists on other planets, nor that UFO's are related to aliens. Under Project Blue Book (1947 to 1969), the Air Force investigated UFO's; then in 1977, NASA was asked to examine the possibility of resuming UFO investigations. After studying all of the facts available, it was determined that nothing would be gained by further investigation ...
A quick gander at nasa.gov could only recover one page on UFOs: QuoteNo branch of the United States Government is currently involved with or responsible for investigations into the possibility of alien life on other planets or for investigating Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO's). The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and NASA have had intermittent, independent investigations of the possibility of alien life on other planets; however, none of these has produced factual evidence that life exists on other planets, nor that UFO's are related to aliens. Under Project Blue Book (1947 to 1969), the Air Force investigated UFO's; then in 1977, NASA was asked to examine the possibility of resuming UFO investigations. After studying all of the facts available, it was determined that nothing would be gained by further investigation ...The last part is kind of interesting. Does anybody know anything about the 1977 study? Guess that would have been under President Carter. Strange...
Another indication that the "mystery sound" was an interference problem in the hardware, from the Apollo Flight Journal:103:47:58 Stafford (in Snoopy): That weird noise is on VHF B.103:48:01 Cernan (in Snoopy): It's a what?103:48:02 Stafford (in Snoopy): It's on VHF B.103:48:03 Cernan (in Snoopy): Is that right?103:48:04 Stafford (in Snoopy): Yes.So, the noise was only coming through on one of the VHF circuits. The other circuit wasn't getting it. That pretty clearly makes it an interference issue with the circuit itself, not a real signal being picked up and transformed into sound.
As for why the signal only apparently happened on the Dark Side, isn't it the case that the radios were programmed to automatically seek out signals from Earth? In which case, once behind the Moon, the reception gain would have maxed out, making them hypersensitive to receiving any sort of electronic noise generated by the old fashioned electronics onboard.
Quote from: Warren Platts on 02/23/2016 06:09 pmAs for why the signal only apparently happened on the Dark Side, isn't it the case that the radios were programmed to automatically seek out signals from Earth? In which case, once behind the Moon, the reception gain would have maxed out, making them hypersensitive to receiving any sort of electronic noise generated by the old fashioned electronics onboard.So in that case it was just a matter of them not bothering to turn off the earth communication antennas when not in use. If they were the same antennas used to communicate between the modules, then this shouldn't have been an issue. since they were still in communication.
Can I just point something out, please? This thread and many of the links use the term "dark side of the moon". There is no "dark side of the moon" other than the name of a famous musical album. The "far side of the moon" from Earth's perspective is illuminated as often as the side that faces us is illuminated. Now, the moon's material is a bit dark so the whole thing is a bit dark, especially compared with how it appears in the night sky (as bright white) but it's still illuminated.I think nothing could make these points clearer than this video.http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earthWhile it's certainly not as bright as the white clouds on Earth, it's not too dissimilar in brightness to the land masses visible on our planet in the background of that video.
I have just found this story, and I am a bit confused. I remember reading something about radio noise on Apollo flights behind the moon when I was about 12 or 13. That would have been the mid 70s. My memory is rather fuzzy on it, was a long time ago. Why is this suddenly being claimed to have been classified before now? I suppose I could be remembering something else......
Quote from: whitelancer64 on 02/23/2016 06:04 pmNASA does not and never has had a policy for dealing with aliens. Nor does any other spacefaring nation.So it's the Air Force's or USSTRATCOM's job?