Wonder of Science

Apollo 17 lifts off from the Moon on December 14, 1972, the last time humans visited the lunar surface and traveled beyond Earth's orbit.

Further reading: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/leaving-moon-watching-home

Leaving the Moon, Watching at Home

After pressing some buttons to start up the ascent engine of their lunar module Challenger, astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the Moon on December 14, 1972. That’s 39 years ago – before many of us were even born. While these men looked out the tiny triangular windows of the lunar module to see the lunar surface getting farther away, viewers around the world watched that same spacecraft leave the Moon, live and in color on their television sets.

Jan 12, 2024 at 3:04pmPhanpy
Show threadSteve VaughanJan 12, 2024
@wonderofscience I always ask myself - who's filming that?
Show threadLaberpferdJan 12, 2024

@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience
The path of the flight, aiming to reach earth, was obviously calculated before and not a random liftoff into space.

So anything they needed was to point the camera (of all the equipment they left on the moon) too look along the path they will take later when flying back home.

Show threadMatt McIrvinJan 12, 2024
@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience I was just learning about that a while ago-- on the later missions they had TV cameras that could be aimed remotely from Houston. There was one mounted on the rover, but they could also set one up on a tripod.
Show threadMatt McIrvinJan 13, 2024
@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience (I guess in this case it actually was from the rover)
Show threadMatt McIrvinJan 13, 2024
@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience (Just getting color video from the Moon was really hard, since regular color TV cameras of that day absolutely were out of the question--they were enormous. They used a small black-and-white camera with a rotating color filter in front of it, and did all kinds of analog electronics wizardry to turn that into a color TV signal. The rotating filter method is why the little bits of flying debris you see here look brightly colored.)
Show threadTim Ellis 🦝Jan 12, 2024
@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/leaving-moon-watching-home
Leaving the Moon, Watching at Home

After pressing some buttons to start up the ascent engine of their lunar module Challenger, astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the Moon on December 14, 1972. That’s 39 years ago – before many of us were even born. While these men looked out the tiny triangular windows of the lunar module to see the lunar surface getting farther away, viewers around the world watched that same spacecraft leave the Moon, live and in color on their television sets.

Show threadShawn KingJan 12, 2024

@steve_vaughan @wonderofscience The aliens who lived on the moon.

But I’ve already said too much...

🤣

Show threadSteve VaughanJan 12, 2024
@wonderofscience Thank you for all the helpful replies. But you are all wrong. Clearly this was filmed by the dopey astronaut they didn't get on with, who stayed there for literally tens of minutes thinking, "they'll be back soon to pick me up" before his oxygen ran out. I reckon his dessicated corpse is up there right now, hands still on the camera, his confused helmeted skull pointed upwards as if to say "guys?" But I could be wrong.
Show threadOstfriesinJan 12, 2024

@wonderofscience

Why hasn't anybody visited the moon for more than 50 yrs?

Show threadt-beestJan 12, 2024
@Ostfriesin @wonderofscience it's boring, nothing to do
Show threadTom HarringtonJan 12, 2024
@Ostfriesin @wonderofscience Moon's haunted
Show threadLuisProfJan 12, 2024
@Ostfriesin tough neighborhood
Show threadGMButlerJan 13, 2024
@Ostfriesin @wonderofscience we’ve lost the capability for the details it takes due to our shortened attention spans.
Show threadJohn GreyJan 13, 2024
@Ostfriesin @wonderofscience fares and accommodation are v expensive.
Show threadpapiris🏴🇵🇸Jan 14, 2024
@wonderofscience
Huh, #Denmark's former queen Margrethe had just barely been coronated at that time.
Seeing how Denmark got a new king today, I'm expecting another extraterrestrial voyage this year