Music on the far side of the moon

THE makers of a Science Channel series called NASA’s Unexpected Files have unearthed an incredible recording from the 1969 Apollo 10 moon mission, which captures spooky space music heard by astronauts on board.

Three astronauts feature in the recording, Thomas Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan, one of which can be heard commenting on the peculiar whistling-like sound and comparing it to ‘outer-space-type-music’. 

Fearing they would be excluded from future space missions, all of which require peak levels of mental and physical fitness, the trio were reluctant to broach the subject with NASA bosses.  

Many experts proposed that radio interference was behind the eerie sound, but some of the world’s most prominent astronauts remain unconvinced. 

The mission took place two months before Apollo 11’s first manned moon landing and involved circumnavigating the moon in its lunar orbit. 

The far side of the moon, which is never seen by us earthlings, falls out with the range of radio signals and leaves audacious astronauts without radio contact for up to an hour. 

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who charted the far side solo while Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were busy making history while taking man’s first steps on the moon’s surface, also reported hearing an ‘eerie woo-woo sound’, but had been informed of the musical phenomenon before departing on the mission. 

In his book Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journey, Mr Collins wrote: “Had I not been warned about it, it would have scared the hell out of me.”

The Apollo 10 recording has taken nearly 40 years to come to the public’s ears. 

Speaking to the US press, Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden voiced his thoughts on the recording, saying: “NASA would withhold information from the public if they thought it was in the public’s best interest.”