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Film summary
The ingenious system to measure the distance to the Moon involving Apollo astronauts, lasers and a unique mirror system planted on the lunar surface.Key facts
- In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts left an array of tiny mirrors on the Moon.
- Scientists use lasers to measure the distance between the Moon and Earth.
- Scientists can determine the Moon's distance to an accuracy of 3cm.
- The Moon is moving away from the Earth 3.8 cm a year.
Transcript
In 1969, Apollo 11 left behind more than just footprints.
They offloaded a set of mirrors, which continue the mission's legacy to this day.
McDonald Observatory, Texas
This involves firing lasers at The Moon.
Why? So we can get a near perfect measurement of its distance from Earth, tracking its exact orbit around our ...
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