PART 2
Part 1 is published here: https://www.ufodigest.com/article/apollo-11-were-there-ufos-moon
In an earlier essay, I spoke of the report first made by Otto Binder concerning the alleged sighting of three huge UFOs on the Moon by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin shortly after alighting from the Moon Lander.
In 1979 came a volume by Maurice Chatelain, “Our Ancestors Came From Outer Space.” He wrote that the discovery of UFOs on the moon was widely known among NASA personnel, but not discussed until ‘now,’ meaning 1979. He also claimed that Apollo 11’s transmissions were sometimes interrupted to avoid transmission to the public. This was denied by a NASA spokesman, however throughout the Apollo expeditions there are a number of instances of instructions by Houston to switch to another frequency, presumably not available to the public, and much dialogue, unintelligible to the public, that is obviously in code.
And who was Maurice Chatelain? Chatelain was born in France and lived in Casablanca until he moved to the United States in 1955, moving expenses being paid by the U.S. government. His First job was with Convair Astronautics as an electronics engineer. He worked in telecommunications, then was shifted to telemetry, and ultimately to radar.In 1959 he was hired by Ryan Electronics, a division of Ryan Aeronautical Company, and was placed in charge of an electromagnetic research group developing new radar and telecommunication systems. In the course of this work he was awarded eleven patents, one of which was for an automatic radar landing system, used in ranger and Surveyor flights to the Moon.
He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to work for North American Aviation which had just been awarded the contract for development and production of the Apollo spacecraft. Within a few months he was there put in charge of invention and building of facilities for voice and television transmissions from earth to the moon. This involved relay stations around the globe in the tropics, each over 200 feet in diameter, and in such manner as to be able to communicate with each other and with the Flight Center in Houston. One or two of them needed to be always in contact with the Apollo craft circling the moon. He has published a number of technical articles and has lectured on subjects involving his technical expertise.
James Oberg, a perennial debunker, together with NASA seem determined to trash Chatelain’s statements, even if it involves distorting Chatelain’s words: Oberg says that when he
“…contacted Chatelain’s employers he learned that Chatelain was no longer employed by them when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. If he was no longer an employee of a NASA sub-contractor then he could not have been present in any so-called ‘secret room’ where he could overhear the confidential communications of the astronauts on the lunar surface.”
When Chatelain ever said he was in any ‘secret room’ or ever overheard any conversation on or from the Moon would be interesting to know. As far as I can determine, the following excerpt form his 1975 book (pp 25, 26) is all he has ever said on that subject:
“When Apollo 11 made the first moon landing on the Sea of Tranquility and, only moments before Armstrong stepped down the ladder to set foot on the Moon, two UFOs hovered overhead. Edward Aldrin took several pictures of them. Some of these photographs have been published in the June 1975 issue of ‘Modern People’ magazine. The magazine did not tell where it got them, vaguely hinting at some Japanese source.” The entire context makes clear that he was repeating what was a matter of discussion among those close to the scene, and his view of the photographs, never claiming to have first hand knowledge.
Elsewhere however, Oberg places Chatelain in good company, namely many authors, military persons and researchers who do not shy away from their beliefs in the real existence of the UFO phenomenon: “Mullaney, Sandler, Emenegger, Fuller, Hervey, Button, Harris, Binder, Matsumura, Barry, Pepper, Lorenzen, Harder, Chatelain, Lepoer-Trench, Zigel, Boznich, Wilson, Gris, Goodavage, Beckley, Pratt, Creighton, Berlitz, Moore, Azhazha, and others,” names (except for Pepper, a name that will be discussed later) well known to those versed in the UFO subject.
These presumably are among the ones he later described as “A well-publicized collection of cranks, crackpots, con men and well meaning innocents” who “have created a facade of ‘UFO encounters’ and a counterfeit claim of ‘NASA coverup’ concerning UFOs allegedly seen on the Apollo 11 moon expedition ten years ago. For some, the rewards are probably psychological, for others, publicity; for those portions of the news media which have eagerly offered them a forum, the juicy rewards have been financial in nature.”
A very germane and logical response. Right?
There things remained, except for possible ephemeral discussions on the web or elsewhere, until publication of a book “Celestial Raise,” in 1987. Everything about that book is mysterious, but one excerpt is possibly very informative. Dealing with the mysterious part first, It is stated in the opening pages that it is “compiled by Marcus .“ As to who Marcus may be, we are given very little information. He is listed in the book only as a photographer with Celestial Raise Productions. A ‘Sister Thedra’ is also listed as a photographer with A.S.S.K. The copyright is 1986 by “Richard Watson & A.S.S.K. Inc.” The corporation’s address is given as a PO Box in Mt. Shasta, CA, as are five of the seven photographers.
To anyone, like yours truly, not steeped in the language, tone, content, and some knowledge of the dramatis personae of the paranormal, the book is extremely enigmatic. We are given an index of 56 speakers, all of whom have names no less accessible than the following examples: Sananda, Ashtar, Yogunda, Masters of Korendor, Cuptan Fetogia, Korton, The Father Solen Aum Solem, and including five different archangel with names like Uriel or Jophiel.
Ironically, the only ‘down to earth’ language is the dialogue allegedly from and to the moon. Two explanatory paragraphs introduce that dialogue. Mention is made of the ‘two minutes of silence’ shortly after the astronauts alighted, in which image and sound were interrupted. The dialogue itself, the book continues, “has been corroborated by hundreds of amateur radio operators” who were tuned to the same frequency used by the astronauts during the two minutes. Voices from the moon are given as “Armstrong & Aldrin” and we do not know which of the two is speaking at any given time, perhaps because it is not always possible to tell. Though the book says that it gives the complete dialogue, it seems to pick up from the brief excerpt in the Saga article by Binder:
Armstrong & Aldrin: “Those are giant things. No, no, no – this is not an optical illusion. No one is going to believe this!”
Houston:“What…what… what? What the hell is happening? What’s wrong with you?”
Armstrong & Aldrin:“They’re here under the surface.”
Houston:“What’s there (muffled noise) Emission interrupted; interference control calling Apollo 11.”
Armstrong & Aldrin:“We saw some visitors. They were here for a while observing the instruments.”
Houston: “Repeat your last information!”
Armstrong & Aldrin: “I say that there were other spaceships. They’re lined up on the other side of the crater.”
Houston:“Repeat, Repeat!”
Armstrong & Aldrin:“Let us sound this orbita… In 625 to 5 Automatic relay connected… My hands are shaking so badly I can’t do anything. Film it? God, if these damned cameras have picked up anything – What then?”
Houston: “Have you picked up anything?”
Armstrong & Aldrin: “I don’t have any film at hand. Three shots of the saucers or whatever they were that were ruining the film.”
Houston:“Control, control here. Are you on your way? What is the uproar with the UFOs over?”
Armstrong & Aldrin:“They’ve landed there. There they are and they’re watching us.”
Houston:“The mirrors, the mirrors – have you set them up?”
Armstrong & Aldrin:“Yes, they’re in the right place. But whoever made those spaceships surely can come tomorrow and remove them. Over and out.”
Mysterious as the report may be, the reaction of NASA and Oberg is even more so, unless, that is, they are covering something up, a matter to be further discussed in the next posting.
The author’s web site is www.ourinterplanetaryfuture.com His book is
“Our Interplanetary Future: A UFO Primer For Skeptics.”