Universe Today
It seems fitting that today's NASA "Image of the Day" is this wonderful image of the lunar lander from the Apollo 11 mission, the Eagle, on its way to land on the moon. Really, truthfully, can anyone really believe that a spectacular image like this can be fake? After last night's "Mythbusters" show about the Apollo Moon Landing Hoax Myth, I'm cautiously hopeful that at least some people who believe(d) in this myth had their eyes opened and minds changed. Alas, there will always be folks out there who for some reason are set on not believing scientists, engineers or the government and won't subscribe to any type of proof, be it scientific or television-ific. Perhaps the upcoming Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission will be able to take hi-resolution images of one of the Apollo sites.
But in the meantime, enjoy this great image, taken by the Columbia Command and Service Module Pilot for Apollo 11, Michael Collins. Inside the Eagle were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine. And then Armstrong said, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
And that's the truth.
For more great NASA images, visit the Image of the Day site
