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Evan Burton

Jack White's Aulis "Apollo Hoax" Investigation - A Rebuttal

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Firstly, the slight knee bend was normal for the astronauts. This was a combination of the suit and maintaining your centre of gravity.

Now, in AS11-40-5873, we are look at Aldrin face on. You can't tell if his knees are bent a little. Maybe they are, maybe there not.

The significant factors, however, are:

1. Aldrin is slightly further away from the Solar Wind Collector, probably by about 30cm or thereabputs. So perspective says he will APPEAR slightly smaller.

2. In AS11-40-5873, Aldrin is leaning forward more than he was in AS11-40-5872. Look at the top of his gold visor, the top of his helmet, and the top of the PLSS backback in each image.

3. In AS11-40-5872, he was standing on pretty solid, unbroken soil. In AS11-40-5873, he is standing in an area where there are multiple footprints in the disturbed soil. This might account for as much as a centimetre difference in apparent height.

4. The lunar surface is NOT flat & level. He might be standing in a small depression, again accounting for a centimetre or two of height difference.

5. Armstrong first took AS11-40-5872, then moved closer to the LM before taking AS11-40-5873. This also accounts for a change in perspective.

In this "proof" Jack is trying to compare apples & oranges. As usual, it doesn't work that way.

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Here is a better view of AS11-40-5903, one of the most famous images of the Apollo programme:



Now, Jack's points:

1. Ground is relatively level in this area...

Well, no it isn't. There are depressions all over the place. Buzz is standing in one.

2. ... Buzz turned around for the second pose, while Neil walked to the other side to shoot the second pose... why is the second pose so different?

This would give you the impression that the photos were taken immediately after one another. They weren't. The image on the RIGHT, AS11-40-5873, was taken at Ground Elapsed Time (GET) of 110hr:03min:24sec, while the image on the LEFT was taken nearly 40 minutes later at GET 110:42:39. In between these times, they examined the LM, took lunar samples, took more images, put up the US flag... oh - and they spoke to the US President.

3. Notice especially the top view of the backpack, taken by a chect mounted camera. How did the camera on the chest shoot a top view of the backpack? With Armstrong taking both photos, why does one camera viewpoint seem higher than the other?

Nothing unusual there. In the image on the left (5903), Buzz is walking out of a small depression. He's leaning very slightly more back than normal, so you see a little less of the top of the PLSS backpack. In the image on the right (5873), Buzz is stooped a little forward, so you see a little more of the top of the PLSS backpack.

Additionally, in 5873, Armstrong is much further away and may be on slightly higher ground.



Incidently, there is a Real Video clip of Armstrong taking images 5872 and 5873. See the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

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No, there are not. I'll deal with the "missing" piece of metal shortly.

Jack is misleading here in a couple of ways. First he says a "NEWLY released photo"; that's incorrect. The image has always been available. High quality scans produced by JSC may have been placed on the internet in 2004, but the image has always been available to the public. Jack has also labelled the images "NEW" and "PREVIOUS", giving the impression that they are meant to be the same image. He mentions in the text that they are consecutive images, but the labels are misleading.

Jack says "... there are numerous anomolies present...". Well, list them and point them out. People can't be expected to read your mind.

Now, the "missing" metal. What you see in AS11-40-5862 is part of the LM ascent stage body. In AS11-40-5863, Armstrong has moved further to the right and it is being hidden by the RCS plume deflector, the long black thing underneath each thruster quad. It protects the LM body from possible damage by the thrusters.

See it in this image, underneath the thruster quad?



You can see the "missing" piece of the body in this composite image by Ed Hengeveld. It's just to the right of the RCS plume deflector:



Links to hi-resolution copies of the images:



Once again - no anomoly.

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Before looking at the images, let's review what Jack has said:

1. These two new images appear identical except for a couple of minor details you can see. They are said to be consecutive exposures made by "Armstrong" of "Aldrin" descending from the LEM.

The images are cropped from AS11-40-5867 and AS11-40-5868, which are consecutive images.


Absolute bunkum. Firstly, they are NOT identical (which I'll show shortly), and secondly they could be achieved without a tripod. All it requires is to remain still between shots.

3. But the alleged camera was a CHEST-MOUNTED Hasselblad attached to the "Armstrong" chest, and he was moving around, and his camera HAD NO VIEWFINDER. How did he mange to expose, wind film, and take the next shot FROM THE EXACT SAME POINT OF VIEW?

To begin, Jack actually has something right - there was no viewfinder. What he wants you to believe, though, is that the camera was something like you would use to take 'happy snaps'.

Now - prove that he was moving around, Jack. You have evidence that he did? Did he go for a walk, dance a little jig, play a round of golf? The shots were CONSECUTIVE, one taken immediately after the other.

The Hasselblad was activated by either a button the front of the camera, or when chest mounted, by squeezing a trigger on the grip that was attached to the camera.



Images of Hasselblad camera courtesy of www.myspacemuseum.com

Information on the Hasselblad camera used on the lunar surface.

The camera had an electric winder to move to the next frame.

So it was very easy to take two consecutive shots from the same viewpoint. You stay still, CLICK, wait for the frame advance, CLICK.

Let's look at the two images Jack has shown:





Gee, it looks to me that if this were taken with a tripod, they must have moved the tripod a bit.

There is an obvious difference between the images. The photographer, Neil Armstrong (NOT alleged), has moved his body very slightly. You can see this, even in Jack's cropped images, because the lens flare at the bottom right of the picture has moved slightly.

If you can't see it with the large images, try going to The Project Apollo Image Gallery and look up the two images. You can see them in a smaller scale, and the movement becomes more apparent.

The cropped images show practically no difference in viewpoint because there was very little movement between the shots.

Once again, there are NO problems with the images.

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Let's examine some of the statements made in this claim:

1. This distant shot from Apollo 11 shows the US flag flying high above the horizon, taken with a camera at about the same height as the flag.

Firstly, let's check where the chest-mounted camera actually sat on the astronaut.


Neil Armstrong during pre-flight EVA training outside a mockup of the LM (JSC scan, AP11-S69-31054)

You can see the camera sits high on the chest, just a little underneath the visor.

Now let's compare an astronaut next to the flag.



In this image, Aldrin is actually a little closer to Armstrong (who took the image), but it serves as an approximation. You can see that where the camera would be mounted (just under the visor) is level with the horizon in the image, which is level with the bottom of the flag.

So the camera height is about the same as the bottom of the flag if you were standing on the same level ground.

2. Note that the ground is very flat between the camera and the flag...

Actually, it's not. Have a look at some images of the ground in that area.

Firstly, the image Jack uses:



You can see that in the area 'below' the flag and to the left, there is a crater. Further left you can see the ground rises to a lip of a crater before dropping away to a fairly deep crater (see below). 'Below' the flag and to the right, the ground rises. Just to the right of the LRRR (the white thing on the ground in the middle of the image, at about the 4 o'clock position from the flag) you can see a fairly deep depression on the ground.

Let's have a look at a cropped section of AS11-40-5950:


Cropped section (left hand side) of AS11-40-5950HR

Look under the arrows and you can see how the ground rises to the lip of a crater, before dropping off to a fairly deep crater. This is the approximate position that the second image, AS11-40-5886, was taken from. So the astronauts feet (viewed in this image) would be nearly level with the horizon - but if you look at the flag in the standard image, the base of the pole drops well below the visible horizon. AS11-40-5886 is on 'higher' ground as compared to the flag location.

So the ground is not 'very flat' - there are dips and rises everywhere. It's shown in many images, and they talk about it during the EVA:

(From the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal)

110:01:42 Armstrong: This is straight south.




So shots may have been taken in depressions or on rises. The interesting thing about AS11-40-5886 is that it was not taken on the RCU bracket, Aldrin removed it and took the shot of Armstrong at the LM whilst holding it in front of him:

(From the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal)

Buzz's Plus-Z Pan (frames 5881 to 5891)


That the images show the flag above the lunar horizon in one image and in the middle of it in another prove absolutely nothing.

There is also an excellent geologic map of the Apollo 11 landing site in the ALSJ, which shows locations of the main craters, where and in what direction certain images were taken, etc, and links to those images. A very handy resource.

Edited by Evan Burton

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Well, I presume by this "article" that Jack is a spacecraft designer and engineer. He can tell you what is 'spaceworthy' and what isn't. He obviously knows how to design a lightweight spacecraft that can safely land two astronauts on the moon and return them to lunar orbit, and yet still be carried within the weight limitations of a Saturn V.

Well, Jack will tell you: he's an advertising man. He has no qualifications in aviation or engineering. I'm not a spacecraft designer or engineer, either. These people, however, are:


apmisc-LM-noID-38 courtesy of The Project Apollo Archive Image Gallery

There is no quick and easy answer to refute Jack's "expertise". You have to read about how the spacecraft was designed, built, and evolved. If you have questions, you have to address them to people who have the expertise in that area. Just because Jack cannot build a spacecraft, it doesn't mean they couldn't be built.

An excellent reference is Chariots for Apollo - A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft .

It describes the original task, how Grumman had to design a lunar spacecraft light enough to be carried to the moon yet land it's occupants safely on the lunar surface - and return them to lunar orbit. It tells of the ingenious ways to save weight, the simplification of systems to ensure safety, the heartaches & triumphs of the design of the LM. Jack also does not mention that the Apollo 8 mission became a lunar orbital mission because the LM was not going to be ready for Earth orbit testing in time for the Apollo 8 launch - Apollo 8's original mission.

Read it.

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See previous post - Jack is not a spacecraft designer or engineer.

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No, he is not.

1. The antenna on the PLSS backpack could be retracted. It was retracted during egress from the LM. On the surface, it was generally worn up. It was also flat, so 'side-on' it could seem to disappear but be clearly visible when seen 'front-on'.

2. The "black stripes" are the edges of the gloves (sometimes showing the glove-to-suit wrist connector) and the watch that Buzz wore.

3. The boots are always the same, as the images below show.

4. The dark grey of the gloves and boots was sometimes "washed out" in direct sunlight, and would appear to be much lighter in colour than they were. The images below also show this.

Here's an image of all the pieces that made up an astronauts suit:


The A-7L Pressure Garment Assembly courtesy of www.myspacemuseum.com

Jack shows us the following images:

AS11-40-5948 (White gloves, antenna, no wrist stripe, high boots)

AS11-40-5873 (Dark grey gloves, no antenna, no wrist stripe, high boots)

AS11-40-5868 (Dark grey gloves, antenna?, black wrist stripe, high boots)

AS11-40-5875 (White gloves, no antenna, right wrist not seen, no high boots)

AS11-40-5903 (Dark grey gloves, no antenna, possible thin wrist stripe, high boots)

AS11-40-5902 (Dark grey gloves, antenna, possible wrist stripe, high boots)

Now, here are the various images showing that there is nothing wrong and Jack has once again been mistaken:


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5868 showing wrist stripes


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5902 showing various items


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5903 showing wrist stripes


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5875 showing wrist stripes


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5875 showing antenna


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5873 showing wrist stripes


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5873 showing boots and washout


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5873 showing antenna


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5875 showing boots


Crop and enlargement of AS11-40-5948 showing wrist stripes

When I was looking at AS11-40-5903 (the famous Buzz photo), the NASA frame finishes at the top of the PLSS backpack so I can't look for the antenna in that image. The "black sky" has been added to the top of that image so that Buzz is more centralised in the photo, rather than right at the top.

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In this post, Jack makes no allowance for the fact that the image is taken with the sun roughly on the right hand side. The shadow is correct, but Jack is comparing it to objects FAR in the background. You are looking at the objects at a low angle, so although the LM shadow may appear to point towards the double rock, it is not.

Let's check out the images as to what we can see clearly.

If we look at AS11-40-5931 (shown below), we can see the sun is roughly behind the LM (i.e. shining on the 'flat side' at the rear of the LM). It's not quite, because a little light is shining on the left hand side of the LM (Jack's 'side of polygon'), but it will do to illustrate that the images are correct.

So the shadow of the LM is out in 'front' of the LM. You can see the LM leg with the ladder on it is roughly in the middle of the LM shadow.



If we look at the next image Jack has shown, AS11-40-5947 (shown below), we can see that once again the LM is lit from 'behind' (on the 'flat side'), with slightly more sun on the left hand side (the 'polygon'). We are looking the the LM roughly 'side on', and the shadow from the LM is to the left in a horizontal direction. You can see that the EASEP that Aldrin has set up also has it's shadow to the left horizontally, so we can see the sun is to the right at a roughly right angle to the direction of the photograph.



So the lighting angle from the sun has remained the same. Jack has simply misinterpreted the images by looking at the shadows cast by near objects and comparing them to distant objects at a very low angle.

BTW, this image is a good illustration of the lunar terrain (look at the ground to the left of Aldrin) which Jack says is 'flat'.

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No, they are not. Jack shows small versions of the images, and even smaller crops of other. Always look at the FULL image (especially high resolution ones, if available) to see the WHOLE scene in the best detail available.

Firstly, the main image is AS11-40-5886.

Now, in AS11-40-5875, when Buzz is saluting the flag, he is actually about 30-40cm CLOSER to the camera than the flag. If he were at the same distance, I'd expect the bottom of his shoes to be horizontal with the base of the flag (where it enter the lunar soil). They're not. They are BELOW the base. You can also see (in the high resolution version especially) that there are foot prints between the base of the flag and the horizontol level of Buzz's boots. Judging by the direction of the footprints, their angle, etc, I'd guess he was about 30-40cm closer to the camera; possibly more.

I'm willing to be corrected on the distance. If we look up how long and wide the boots were, a more precise distance could be obtained.

If we look at AS11-40-5873, when Buzz is near the Solar Wind Collector (SWC), he is actually slightly BEHIND the SWC. This may not seem much, but it's enough to cause some distortion due to perspective.

The image Jack SHOULD have used is AS11-40-5872, when Buzz is immediately next to the SWC. That would be useful to compare the heights of Buzz and the SWC.



Next, in AS11-40-5886, the SWC is considerably FURTHER away from the camera than the flag.; I'd guess as much as a metre (again, I'm willing to be corrected).

Then there are the distances from the photographer and the subjects in each image to be considered.

So trying to compare heights is simply trying to compare apples and oranges again.

The "apparent" height difference is simply a matter of perspective, nothing more.

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The image Jack has posted is AS11-40-5961 .

That particular image and the effect is explained by Clavius.org here and here.

Craig has also reproduced the effect in this thread on this forum. You are strongly advised to grab a camera and reproduce a similar effect yourself.

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Jack has shown two images, AS11-40-5847 (View out Neil's window after the landing. The foreground crater at the bottom of the image is about 10 meters in diameter. The western half of this crater is overlain by a younger, 12-m crater. Scan by Kipp Teague.) and AS11-37-5458 (View out Neil's window toward the southwest prior to the EVA. Scan courtesy NASA Johnson.).

To just look at those images, you'd have to agree with Jack. The ALSJ does indeed say they are both taken from Neil's window.

So let's take a look at an image we know was taken from Buzz's window:



We KNOW this is taken from Buzz's window (post-EVA) because we can see the flag and the TV camera.

Now compare that to AS11-37-5458 (the correction has been made since Jack posted this study - it has been reversed to show the correct orientation):



Now a comparison of the two:


COMPARISON OF AS11-37-5480 AND AS11-37-5458

So as you can see, they are of the same scene. What has happened is that the ALSJ has made a mistake (which has been reported - AGAIN) and said that AS11-37-5458 was taken from Neil's window. It was taken from Buzz's window, and the scan was accidently reversed.

It was a mistake; not anything done by "whistleblowers", just a mistake. After all, I have shown that Jack has made plenty of those so far, haven't I?

No mystery again.

Edited by Evan Burton

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Or did it? Jack asks "Where are the missing photos?".

Simple answer - there aren't any.

WHAT? Why was Buzz saluting if not to pose for the camera?

Buzz Aldrin is a very patriotic man, and a proud military man - and he was saluting (he did so twice here) when he and Armstrong were talking to President Nixon.

Once more, if Jack White bothered to do research instead of jumping to conclusions, he would have discovered this entry in The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal:








The clip from the television camera is also available.

Edited to add:

A New Zealand correspondent pointed out the following -

Buzz salutes five times, at 49:36, 51:11, 51:29, 57:34, and 57:46 in the first film of the EVA on the Spacecraft Films' DVD. Jack White, being such a good researcher, should know this. ;D

The first salute occurs between Mike Collins saying, "...just beautiful," and Neil Armstrong saying, "See if you can pull that end," so roughly between GET 110:09:50 and 109:10:16. The flag is nearly up and Buzz steps backwards to the right of the screen, almost up against the RCS thruster from that angle. As Buzz salutes, Neil is holding the flagpole in his right hand.

The next salute at 51:11 is probably when Neil takes his photo, AS11-40-5874. Buzz's right fingertips can be seen up at his visor and he holds them there for qiuite a long time.

Interestingly, White says that the next picture, AS11-40-5875, is of Buzz saluting, but it's not. In that one Buzz has dropped his right hand, swivelled his body a little to the left and is looking directly at Neil -- his face can be seen in hi-res versions of the photo.

Buzz salutes a third time soon after this at 52:29 and Neil is working with the camera but apparently not taking a photo.

For his fourth and fifth salutes, Buzz is facing the TV camera and saluting President Nixon, not the flag as White says. He does this at 57:34 just before the end of Nixon's call at about the time Neil stops speaking, and after saying "I look forward to that very much, sir" salutes briefly again at 57:46.

Until now, during the President's phone call, Neil has had both hands in front of his hips (nowhere near the camera) as he listens to and speaks to Nixon, and as Buzz's right hand comes down, Neil's comes up to salute too.

White says, "Clearly the movie shows Buzz following posing instructions and then saluting twice at each location." He missed the first salute, but why does he mention "posing instructions"? None are obvious at all, except for Bruce McCandless saying, "We'd like to get both of you in the field of view of the camera for a minute..."

And why does White claim that Neil is taking photos of Buzz's fourth and fifth salutes? We can't see what he's doing in the 16mm film because he is partly hidden, and the TV images clearly show that he doesn't take photos. It would have been disrespectful for him to do so while the President was speaking.

Edited by Evan Burton

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What Buzz is carrying is the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP), which consisted of the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSE or PSEP) and the Lunar Ranging Retro Reflector (LRRR).

He has the PSEP in his left hand, and the LRRR in his right.

Together, they weighed 77Kg - in Earth-normal gravity. On the moon, they weighed about 13Kg. The PSEP weighed about 8Kg (48Kg in Earth-normal).

Hardly a challenge for Buzz to carry.

Here is the diagramme of the PSEP:


PSEP diagramme from www.myspacemuseum.com

Notice the carrying handle.

Now, imagine the diagramme is rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise, so that the carry handle is at the top. That's how Buzz is carrying the PSEP.

In the images, we are generally seeing the side with the Solar Panel Deployment Linkage. The underside of the PSEP (which is hidden in the diagramme) is the side against Buzz's legs and torso.

Don't forget to look at the high resolution images yourself, and confirm what I am saying.

Now I'll use Jack's numbering system to explain each of the supposed "anomolies"

1. The underside of the PSEP is a flat, polished metal plate. There are rivits around the edges, and also in the middle of it. What you are seeing is the reflection of Aldrin in it. This applies to many of Jack's "anomolies".



2. See above - it's a reflection.

3. The wire loops are still there, it's just that they are very difficult to see (remember - Buzz is moving further away from the camera. Jack doesn't show you this; the images he shows make it look like they are all at the same distance. LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL IMAGES!). In AS11-40-5943, the PSEP is side on to use, almost completly hiding the loops - but you can see part of the red tags:







4. The bundle of gold wires are running down the side of the PSEP. In 5943, you are looking at them straight on. In the others, you are looking at an angle so you can see that the conduit they are in angles inwards at the "bottom" of the PSEP.

5. The "plastic tube" is actually a foil-covered wiring harness, probably part of the antenna positioning mechanism. The reason it is seen "in all different configurations" is because you are looking at it from different angles.

6. The small wire loop is a reflection of a strap on the front of Aldrin's suit, probably part of the PLSS Remote Control Unit (RCU). It's visible in many images.


7. As before, a reflection of the shadow.

8. This looks like a wiring harness, probably associated with the antenna judging by it's position. You can't see it in all the images because it's hidden when we don't have a good view of the top of the PSEP:


9. They are hinge points for the solar panel, clearly visible in all the images.

10. That's the shadow from the wires connected to the golden-coloured cube on the side, visible in all images.

11. Have a look at 5942. That section is angled inwards. We are looking at it side on, the sun is on the left, so it's in shadow. There is more shadow than the sections above because it's angled inwards.

12. The shadows are being cast by wires that are INSIDE the solar panel support arm.



13. The object is only seen in that image because it's the only one which is side on to the PSEP. All the rest show the base of the PSEP (which is reflecting images), and the object is hidden from view.

I'm not sure what it is, but if you have a look at the PSEP diagramme in the previous post, it's on there.

Looking at the diagramme, find the carrying handle. Follow it up and you'll see it joins onto a long thin tube. Follow the tube up and at the end of it is the object in question.


14. You can see the left hand one in AS11-40-5942 and 5945. You don't see them in 5943 because the base is side on to us.

15. No, it's not retouching; it's reflection of the lunar surface.

16. No, it's a reflection of Aldrin's suit and the shadow that the PSEP is casting on him.

17. No, it's a reflection of Aldrin's suit - this time a portion NOT in shadow.

18. See 8.

How can NASA explain these anomalies? It doesn't have to - BECAUSE THERE ARE NONE!

Edited by Evan Burton

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That is a lie. I have never said the landings were faked. I have always

said THE PHOTOS ARE FAKED. That is why Burton has zero credibility.


Mr. Lamson clearly has never been exposed to LOGICAL THINKING.

Apollo photographs are FAKED, therefore the RECORD of the photography is FAKED.

It would be stupid to say the Apollo Surface Journal is genuine since the photos are NOT.

It is logical to consider the written record fiction since it is written about imaginary events

which did not take place.

Jack :P


(My bolding)

Well, you seem to be saying something different in the above quote, but I'll edit my post to reflect you believe the photos are faked.

Evan - Jack was more direct about his views here, there was no need for you to have edited your post.

Jack - The use of the word lie is strictly forbidden, you should edit your post to be in compliance. You say things that aren't true that's why YOU have "zero credibility"


And JFK had nothing to do with faking the trips to the moon. LBJ and Nixon were responsible for that.

(my bolding and underling)

Evan has basically humiliated you and shown that despite your professed expertise as a "photo analyst" backed by your years of experience as a professional photographer you are prone blunders and basic misunderstanding of photographic principles. Evan who is an amateur shows that he has a much firmer grasp of those principals than you do. Instead of making excuses why don't you try to rebut Evan? Your use of excuses instead of responding to people who shot your little pet theories full of holes is getting tiring.

Edited by Len Colby

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