WASHINGTON DC- This week commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. While images of the historic event have been seen the world over, these all come from foggy, low quality video copies of the original high-resolution footage, which somehow disappeared shortly after the mission. Last week, NASA engineer Dick Nafzger announced that the space agency probably taped over the original footage— an act that may forever change the way we use the phrase "he's no rocket scientist."
To make up for this error, NASA has hired a Hollywood special effects company to digitally enhance the existing footage. Click here for more on this story.
George Lucas has offered to help the restoration effort, which will be paid for through product placement. "The special effects in the original footage are impressive for their time," says Lucas, "but today we have the opportunity to do so much more."
The Star Wars creator has proposed adding a perilous flight through a meteor field, which could be spun off into a video game. He's also hoping to provide comic relief by giving Neil Armstrong a zany, jive-talking alien sidekick.
NASA officials have apologized for erasing the original footage, and promise that if and when we develop the technology to return to the moon, "we will carefully label the tapes and not just leave them in the VCR."
Chris Pearson contributed to this report.
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