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Vladislav Pustynski

I was born in Estonia - a Sovet Republic at the time - 1 1/2 years after the last men left the Moon and several months before the last flight of Apollo in ASTP. I have always been interested in astronomy; this interest later brought me to the Department of Physics in Tartu University (Estonia). In 2007 I graduated with a PhD in Astrophysics and at the moment I work as lecturer and senior researcher at Tallinn University of Technology and Tartu Observatory.

Vladislav Pustynski For a long time my interest in Astronautics was limited to interplanetary probes or, rather, to their discoveries on distant planets and their satellites. I was fascinated with Voyager, Venera and other space probes and followed their journeys as like they were adventure novels. Apollo was one of the programs that interested me more from a scientific point of view than as a technological achievement.

In the beginning of 2000s, the authors of a popular Russian anti-hoax page, Y.Krasilnikov and V. Yatzkin, asked me for some help. During the search for information, I became seriously interested in the technical and technological aspects of Astronautics in general, and Apollo in particular. Evenutally, I have become a real fan of Apollo, and that interest enabled me to give an introductory course on Astronautics at our University.

The initial idea of photogrammetry of Apollo photos grew from the conclusion that many claims of hoax followers about 'wrong shadows', 'wrong positions of stones' etc. may be rejected quite simply with a more rigurous photogrammetric study that would instantly disprove the 'home-made' analyses hoax adherents use. A forum member known only as "N.A." helped me to choose suitable software and get me familiar with Image Modeler. ALSJ really fascinates me as an invaluable source of facts about Apollo; and I thank everybody who have devoted their time gathering information about one of the largest enterprises in the history of the mankind. And, of course, I give thanks to everybody who made possible the first Small Step and all the other steps in these difficult and heroic missions. I'm feeling happy to make my own, small contribution in documenting the accomplishments of Apollo.

The picture below is of me and my beloved wife, Marika, in Warsaw in 2009.

April 2010



Vlad and Marika Pustynski