Strange Maps, a blog about, well, strange maps, has another good one: the path of Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s EVA (extravehicular activities or moonwalks) overlaid on a soccer field.
This really lets you know they didn’t go very far! That’s not too surprising if you think about it; this was the first time humans had traveled to and walked upon an alien world, and the goal was to do it and get back. So they only spent less than a day on the Moon at all, and only 2 hours 31 minutes actually walking on the surface.
Later missions got bolder, obviously. Apollo 17, the last to the Moon, was on the Moon for 75 hours, with 22 of those hours spent on EVA. Given the round-trip time of nearly a week, that’s still not very long.
I haven’t heard anything about how NASA plans on going back as far as mission durations. Apollo worked so well we may repeat what happened then; tentative at first, then bolder as we become more confident in the equipment and the brains behind it.
In 15 years, that soccer field overlay may turn into a football field, and then a city park. Eventually, it’ll be a map of the Moon itself.
Tip o’ the spacesuit visor to BABloggee Mike Sperry.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
mmm..isn’t a soccer field bigger than a football field?
cool map non the less..
jb
March 25th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Looks like they did a corner kick from the landing site.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
That puts it all into perspective! One question I had, is this: Were all of the LEM’s used by Apollo crews identical? I am thinking that the later ones would have had to have more space to accommodate larger payloads, and a greater air supply – life support system?
March 25th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I can get my head around this one easier [http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11vsMLB.gif]
March 25th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Why does Armstrong’s path on the football/soccer field not correspond to his path on the baseball diamond?
March 25th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I like this version:
http://stephan-zielinski.com/images/tmp/A11vsMLB2_RGB_1024x767.jpg
which “explains” it all.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
When his route is overlaid on the baseball diamond, he has to take a more direct route to shag the pop fly.
*ducking
March 25th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
If we Canadians were the first on the Moon, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. That map would be overlaid on a hockey rink.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hah! Well that just proves it was all faked! There are no football pitches on the moon!
And anyway, surely a football pitch on the moon would be much larger than on earth, cos the supposed lower gravity and lack of air resistance would mean you’d be able to kick the ball further. And Roberto Carlos would have trouble with those bendy free kicks into the top corner of the net too.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I thought both football (soccer) and American football fields were both one hundred yards long. Maybe the next stage should be a Rugby League field, which is one hundred metres long. Then a racecourse (horses), then the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then…?
March 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I still don’t see the point in pursuing human missions to the moon. Robotic missions are hundreds of times more cost effective. Just look at Spirit and Opportunity.
Now a radio telescope on the far side of the moon is something I can get behind.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Well, you can’t blame BA too much for misjudging the size of a soccer pitch (field). Even with the marketing efforts of Posh and Becks, soccer in the States is still very much a mystery to most Americans over 20.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Just a follow up on my argument why didn’t we send a robotic rover like Pathfinder to the moon before we sent one to Mars? The moon makes a perfect testing ground for the next generation of robotic explorers.
Say we wanted to send a probe to explore the surface of Europa or Ceres well we can use the moon to work all the bugs out first. And we can get tons of good science out of them in the process.
How about a robotic sample return mission to Mars? Why not do a few sample return missions to the moon first? We could even perfect robotic drilling apparatus for obtaining subterranean samples.
To me the Apollo missions can be summed up as such,
“Wow, we’re on the moon. Lets grab some rocks play a little golf and head home.”
March 25th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Psh! Hollywood studio my rear end, they were on a soccer field all along! See? Undeniable proof!
March 25th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
This map is yet more proof that the Moon landing was faked.
They obviously couldn’t travel very far from the so-called LM, because the evacuated sound studio in which it was filmed was restrictively small. And that area just ‘happens’ to be exactly the same as a sports field?
Coincidence?
I think not. They probably based the design on that of a sports stadium, or retrofitted an existing one for the purpose.
You people need to wake up and smell the conspiracy.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
@Michelle
Sorry I accessed the page before you posted. Good to see someone around here can think logically.
I think the obvious thing to do now is research the internet for any stadiums under “construction” during the 1960′s and overlay this map to see if they fit.
We should check and see how much money these projects received in government grants, and whether the people involved had government ties – prior service in the US Defence Force for example.
Also we should check and see if Wernher von Braun ever attended a baseball game, (to do convert recon and structural analysis obviously).
If it turns out some or all of this did happen it would be enough evidence to prove the whole thing as far as I’m concerned.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Football fields are 120 yards x 53 1/3 yards according to http://www.sportsknowhow.com/football/field-dimensions/nfl-football-field-dimensions.html
and soccer fields vary from 50 yards x 100 yards to 100 yards x 130 yards according to http://www.soccerhelp.com/Soccer_Field_Size.shtml.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
FIFA standard fields are 70 to 80 yards by 110 to 120 yards. Wembley Stadium’s field is 75 yards by 115 yards as are NCAA fields.
According to the scale, this field is about 85 yards by 58 yards. That is strange; the internal markings seem about right.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:54 am
JB, a ‘Soccer field’ _IS_ a ‘Football field’ – in the UK, the terms are inter-changeable!
-Nivag
March 26th, 2008 at 2:09 am
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March 26th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Just can’t get my head around this comparison — using a soccer (football) pitch diagram to show the moon walks etc.
I understand lots of people would be fans of the above sports and that the story is kind of targeted towards them, however, one might just have applied the same perspective to a city walk e.g. in New York, in Paris, in Dublin [yes, I'm Irish
)] or other comparisons that we would be familiar with in our lives today.
I prefer to think of the lunar walks as they were originally made — on the lunar surface.
John — http://www.moonposter.ie
Moon News — http://www.moonposter.ie/news.htm
Moon Missions — http://www.moonposter.ie/missions.htm
March 26th, 2008 at 5:03 am
@Gavin Flower
http://www.noob.us/humor/robot-chicken-its-the-law-asshole/
March 26th, 2008 at 5:39 am
well, I really thing BA meant football stadium
but for the Sanadian side of the argument the Canadian football field is bigger then then American field..yes there is a difference
Field:
Canadian: 110 yards x 65 yards with 20 yards end zones
American: 100 yards x ~50 yards with 10 yards end zones
oh..and we Canadians can make 10 yards in 3 plays not 4… but lets not turn this into a sports debate…
March 26th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Although the definition may be correct, I never really thought of the Moon as an “alien” world. In fact, from this perspective I sometimes find it quite familiar and comforting.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:43 am
fake
sooooo fake
actually i dont belive this ll happen today
nation of liars
March 27th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Obviously the Bad Astronomer was referring to Australian Rules Football playing field, which is essentially the same size as a cricket pitch.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Ohh no… I can see it now. This map will be used as *proof* that the moon landings were faked on a soccer field in the Mojave desert.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I’m an avid football fan so I found this post to be really interesting. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to post ! I’ll be adding your site to my newsreader and letting my users know about your site as well.
thank!
John