Apollo 11 Photograph AS11-40-5849

In 2005 a red-brown variant of the Apollo 11 photograph AS11-40-5849 was available on the NASA website. After 2005 a second grey version of the same photograph appeared. When AwE130 alerted the Apollo Historical Archive to this discovery it sparked significant controversy. The differences were not limited to colour. The post-2005 version was cropped and rotated, additionally AwE130 observed the absence of  crosshairs, which raised concerns since all photographs from Apollo 11 film roll 40 should display crosshairs.

One of the Hasselblad cameras used on the lunar surface was equipped with a component known as a reseau plate. This reseau plate consists of a transparent glass surface etched with small black crosshairs, referred to as "fiducials" by some and "reticles" by others. When a film frame is positioned it is pressed against the reseau plate, allowing the photograph to be captured through this plate. Consequently the fiducials appear superimposed on the image that is focused through the camera lens. Today on the NASA website you can read:

A question from Journal Contributor AwE130 about 5849 found led me to look at the image with fresh eyes and to realize that there are no reseau crosses.  A copy of 5849 has been labelled with boxes drawn around the locations were the crosses would be if the image had been taken with the EVA camera.  The boxes were drawn by overlaying 5849 on a copy of AS11-39-5760, a shot Neil took out his window with Mag 39/Q (B&W) on the EVA camera.  Click here for a copy of the 51-Mb,  full-resolution tiff file generated during scanning of 5849 from the original film. (*)

According to NASA, prior to the AwE130 discovery, all images from film roll 40 were captured using the same Hasselblad camera with the reseau plate. However, on the NASA website they chose an unprecedented path, opting to completely revise the documented usage of the film rolls utilized by the Apollo 11 astronauts in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface. This resulted in the following explanation on the NASA website.

Magazine 37/R was used in the LM in lunar orbit prior to the landing and then on the lunar surface for photography out the LM windows. During LM activation in lunar orbit at 81:55:43, Buzz put this magazine on the "reserve camera". This is the IVA camera; it doesn't have a reseau plate. He also loaded the other color magazine (40/S) on the EVA ("surface") camera. He then took a few images with each camera to make sure that at least one of the magazines would work and could be taken outside on the EVA.

All the frames on this magazine were taken with the magazine on the IVA camera. Therefore, none of the frames show reseau crosses.

Thierry Bisiaux and Markus Mehring wrote many of the captions. A question from AwE130 related to use of the three LM magazines (37, 39, and 40) on the two cameras at various times led to a re-assessment of the photographs and the on-board audio recordings, up to the time that Neil and Buzz finished the pre-EVA window photography. Captions for 5433-5439 have been revised. (*) 

The Apollo 11 mission carried a second Hasselblad camera that lacked a reseau plate, resulting in photographs without crosshairs. According to NASA's records today, five images were captured using film roll 40 before it was removed from the camera with the reseau plate and reattached to another camera that did not have one. Subsequently, one additional photograph was taken before film roll 40 was returned to its original camera. This raises several questions, particularly regarding the exposure of the images in question and whether Buzz managed to switch the film rolls in complete darkness. Additionally, there is a notable discrepancy in the rotation of the pre-2005 version of the image compared to its post-2005 counterpart.

The AwE130 overlay of AS11-40-5849, in both its pre and post-2005 iterations, must be authentic as they were/are featured by the historical archive on the NASA website. While it is stated that scans of the original images are utilized, the current display of AS11-40-5848 raises multiple question due to its slight rotation and noticeable cropping at the bottom (other NASA archives show the uncropped version).  Additionally, the noticeable change in colour cannot be overlooked. All of this prompts speculation about the authenticity of the Apollo moon landings. 

AS11-40-5849 the lost crosshair

Today I will provide evidence of a possible effort by NASA to eliminate the crosshairs from the Apollo 11 photograph, which could explain the rotation and cropping seen in the version released after 2005. While I initially considered it possible that an image processing error had led to the disappearance of the crosshairs, I have since concluded that it is more likely that there was a deliberate attempt to obscure the crosshairs. The high-resolution uncropped version of AS11-40-5849 (2013) displayed above clearly reveals remnants of an unsuccessful attempt to remove a crosshair from the image.

When the high-resolution uncropped version AS11-40-5849 is superimposed over any other image from film roll 40, the alignment of the crosshairs is precise. The chance that a random artifact or scratch on the negative would align perfectly with other images is extremely unlikely. The rotation and cropping of the earlier released image (Post 2005) appear to be a deliberate effort to obscure the positions of the crosshairs. It is my belief that AS11-40-59849 was captured using a camera equipped with a reseau plate. Over the years NASA has faced numerous accusations of altering or even fabricating space photographs. The alteration of this particular image likely stems from their inability to reintegrate the crosshairs without revealing the methods used to modify Apollo mission images. It is possible that a whistleblower within NASA intentionally left the crosshair intact, hoping that it would be discovered and lead to revelations of NASA tampering with Apollo 11 moon landing images.

Credit to NASA for Apollo mission photographs  post 2005 AS11-40-5849 |  Pre 2005 AS11-40-5849 |  HR AS11-40-5849