For most people, the words "Project Apollo" bring to mind Apollo 11, and the first landing on the Moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969. But it was much more than that. Apollo was the culmination of President Kennedy's 1961 vow that America would reach the Moon before the end of the 1960s. It included some six manned landings on the Lunar surface, the wrenching loss of three brave Astronauts in a fire, the first manned orbital mission to the Moon, and several test flights in Earth and Lunar orbit. There was also the near disaster that turned into the human triumph of Apollo 13.

Projects Mercury and Gemini were the necessary stepping stones to the Moon. The piloting and ground control skills needed for the Moon project were honed to perfection. The technology required for missions a quarter million miles from Earth, where there would be no rescue if things went awry, was developed first in the one man, and two man flights of Mercury and Gemini.

The benefits of Apollo include:

Humans landing on the Moon for the first time.

A total of six manned missions to land on the Moon, and bringing back a uniquely human perspective on that achievement. These 12 men carried out important scientific experiments and tasks as well.

Over 800 lbs (363 kg) of Moon rocks and soil samples returned to Earth for scientific analysis.

Six different arrays (one from each landing) of scientific intrumentation set up and activated for remote telemetric study after the crews returned to Earth.

Accumulation of much new medical knowledge and technology which benefitted millions worldwide.

Development of early solid state compact computers. This work eventually led

to the computer revolution of the 1980s and 90s.

Development of fuel cell technology.

And so much more in the long run. In spite of many detractors, some of whom claim that men never actually went to the Moon, there is ample hard evidence that they did. There can be no doubt that the United States Moon landing program, known as Project Apollo, was an unqualified success.

Whilst watching a TV program about Project Apollo on the History International Channel, I noticed an object resembling a small white orb pass near the Apollo Command Module. Now I don't know which Apollo flight this film came from, as it was not made clear during the show. This is just stock footage of a rendezvous between the LEM and Command Module, from one of the seven missions where this operation was done in Lunar orbit.

During work with the video clip of the Orb Event, I also noticed what appeared to be a single brief flash of light from the Lunar surface as the Apollo craft passed over at thousands of miles/kilometers per hour. It was obviously something on the Moon reflecting the light of the Sun. Further investigation revealed that it was actually THREE separate flashes very close together in time. The reflective surfaces making these flashes would also have to be separated by a considerable distance from each other on the ground, because the Apollo craft passing overhead were moving at such a high velocity. The flashes lasted only 1/10th of a second. But even in this short time interval, the Apollo craft would have moved several miles/kilometers. So we really can't be sure of the flashes came from multiple reflectors, or one large object with several faces.

HUMAN CAUSED?

One's first thought might be that it was the descent stage of a LEM, or one of the instruments left behind, at one of the six Apollo landing sites. These can be ruled out, as NONE of the manned landings took place in terrain as rough as the area from which the flash came. The areas around large craters, as seen in the video, were considered far too dangerous for bringing the LEM vehicle safely to rest.

Perhaps you remember that Neil Armstrong was forced to over-ride his descent computer and land the Eagle manually. This was because of unexpected boulders strewn about the landscape. The automatic landing computer failed to detect these. Armstrong and Aldrin came within seconds of running out of fuel during the search for a clear spot to land in. This would have resulted in an ultimately fatal crash. Should any of the LEM craft, which landed on the Moon between 1969 and 1972, have been severely damaged or even tipped over on landing, the two Astronauts aboard would never have been able to return home again.

One might also think that the flashes were perhaps caused by one of the several US and Soviet unmanned probes which landed on the Moon during the 1960s. This does remain a possibility, but fails to account for three separate flashes whose originating reflective surfaces must be physically separated from each other.

There were also several craft from both nations which hit the Moon violently, and would have left a scattered debris field. Not knowing the locations of these (dedicated research could unearth this data), we just don't know. We also don't know the identity of the large crater from whose edge the flash was seen. (Perhaps one of YOU out there would like to help resolve these questions? Any and all assistance with getting to the truth is always appreciated. Please e-mail me if you are interested. jeffchallender@projectprove.com)

OR SOMETHING ELSE??

in light of the many photographs returned from the Moon containing many anomalies resembling artificial structures NOT of human origin, we also must consider the possibility that the flashes were caused by something quite mysterious on the surface of our closest neighbor in space.

There is a last possibility to take into consideration, regardless of how "far out" it sounds. Could the multiple flashes have been an aritificial signal of some sort? We obviously can't draw such a conclusion from the limited data we have to work with here, but it is an intrigueing thought. Another event, from STS-108 in December 2001, included strange flashes like the ones filmed on the Moon. We call that one "A Case of Censorship".

The filming in this instance was done by one of the Astronauts aboard the LEM using a hand held 16mm movie camera. In the original video clip, and the animations, we can see a "bump" as the Astronaut slightly jerked the camera.

Would that we had the ORIGINAL 16mm film to work with, rather than this very short, low resolution, clip acquired from television!

Let's have a look at the visual presentation now, shall we?

This little animation is intended to help you find the anomalous flash. It is seen inside the yellow circle. The Apollo Command Module is the sivery object near the center of the field of view. The Orb object is seen within the green circle.

Please also note the large bright crater, and the concentric ridges surrounding it.

I have reached no conclusions concerning this event. There are just too many possibilities for what it might be. It is quite interesting. And this is NOT unique from the films taken by the Apollo Astronauts in the vicinity of the Moon. Another example is from Apollo 12. That event can be explored here.

Apollo 12 - Lunar Flashes!

But the fact remains that SOMETHING down there reflected the Sun. It was large enough to be seen, from a considerable distance. And due to the fact that the individual flashes were separated from each other, the reflective surfaces involved MUST have been spread out over a fairly wide area. In any case...

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At the end of the day, it's up to YOU to draw your own conclusions.

© 2006 Jeff Challender