Astronomers Uncover Audio of 1969 Soviet Attempt to Beat U.S. to
the Moon - 2:41 PM - Categories: Space The United States wasn’t
the only country hoping to land on the moon in July 1969 — the
Soviets were trying to beat us to the punch by landing the
unmanned spacecraft Luna 15 while Apollo 11′s Columbia was still
in orbit around the moon. Now, thanks to the discovery of
previously unheard recordings from 1969, you can listen to the
unfolding drama. Astronomers from the University of Manchester’s
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics unearthed these forgotten
audio files while researching materials for the 40th anniversary
of the moon landing. The recordings come from the control room
of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, where astronomer Sir Bernard
Lovell and colleagues were listening to transmissions from the
moon on the Lovell radio telescope. The newly released
recordings chronicle events from July 19 through July 21, 1969,
with Lovell narrating as events unfold. The first two minutes of
the recording reveal t