THE DETAILS: The PLSS radio antenna, located at the top of the astronauts’ backpacks, seems to come and go in photographs taken moments apart. This is interpreted by some as evidence that the photographs were not taken in sequence and someone forgot to place the antenna consistently in the various photographs.
An example of the disappearing antenna is offered by photos AS11-40-5942 and AS11-40-5943 from the Apollo 11 mission, which show Buzz Aldrin as he carries the instruments to be left on the Moon. The numbering of these photographs implies that they were officially taken in sequence. Yet the antenna appears to be missing in the first one (Figure 5.16-1) and distinctly visible in the second one (Figure 5.16-2).
Figure 5.16-1. Detail of photo AS11-40-5942: where’s the backpack antenna?
Figure 5.16-2. Detail of photo AS11-40-5943: the antenna is clearly visible.
Once again, this apparent inconsistency arises from one of the recurring mistakes of conspiracy theorists: using low-resolution copies instead of high-quality scans of the originals.
The first picture comes from the low-resolution online set of the Johnson Space Center and apparently shows no antenna, but inspection of the high-resolution version of the photograph (Figures 5.16-3 and 5.16-4) reveals that the antenna is actually present, although it’s very faint.
Figure 5.16-3. Photo AS11-40-5942 (high-resolution scan).
Figure 5.16-4. Detail of a high-resolution scan of photo AS11-40-5942.
Why does the antenna look so different in the two pictures? The answer requires in-depth knowledge of Apollo equipment and therefore it’s understandable that some conspiracy theorists and many doubters are misled by their preconceptions. It’s less understandable that they accuse NASA of fakery without first checking in publicly available documents how these antennas were made.
The VHF aerials of the astronauts, used for radio communications, were not traditional rod-like parts, with a circular cross-section: they were slightly curved metal strips, stowed flat before and after use as shown in Figure 5.16-5.
Figure 5.16-5. Detail of the stowed VHF antenna of Charlie Duke’s spacesuit (Apollo 16). Courtesy of K.C. Groneman and D.B. Eppler, NASA Johnson.
Seen edge-on, i.e., when the astronaut is directly facing the camera or has his back to it, these flat VHF antennas are almost invisible against the black lunar sky. Seen from the side, they become clearly visible by reflecting the sunlight from a much wider surface.
In the first picture (5942), Aldrin is seen squarely from the back and therefore the antenna is edge-on to the camera. In the second picture (5943), the astronaut is turned sideways and so his antenna is showing its flat side to the camera. That’s why it’s so much brighter.
In other pictures, such as AS11-40-5874 (the flag salute), the astronaut is seen from the side, but he’s facing the sun and therefore the antenna is edge-on with respect to the light source, so only its front edge catches the light, making it hard to see except in the high-resolution scans.
Figure 5.16-6. Detail of photo AS11-40-5874.
