PROOF THAT APOLLO 11 LANDED ON THE MOON (for all the Conspiracy Nuts)

For stubborn folks who still believe the Apollo astronauts never landed on the moon, NASA has new images — definitive proof — that clearly show the Apollo 11 lander that carried the first astronauts to the lunar surface 40 years ago.


The images were taken by NASA's first lunar scout in more than a decade, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. They show the Eagle lunar lander at Tranquility Base, where Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969. They were snapped between July 11 and 15 of this month and released by NASA on Friday.



The image does not reveal whether the U.S. flag planted there is still standing or not.

The Apollo 11 landing site wasn't the only one that the LRO's camera system (dubbed LROC) photographed: It also snapped pictures of the landing sites of the other five Apollo landings. (The remaining site, for Apollo 12, is expected to be photographed in the coming weeks.) The lunar modules for all of these sites imaged are visible as small dots; their shadows can also be seen. A few more details can be seen in the image of the Apollo 14 landing site, including scientific instruments and astronaut footprints.


"The LROC team anxiously awaited each image," said LROC principal investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University. "We were very interested in getting our first peek at the lunar module descent stages just for the thrill -- and to see how well the cameras had come into focus. Indeed, the images are fantastic and so is the focus."


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Follow the Moon Landing 'Live' Online

Track the Apollo 11 moon mission in real-time from the July 16 liftoff through the July 20 landing at WeChoosetheMoon.org. Chronicle the four-day odyssey exactly as it happened 40 years ago by experiencing the trip as the astronauts did via animation, real mission audio, video, photos, real-time tweets and more.