It was 40 years ago today...

there was a segment on the today programme this morning debunking many of the popular moon landing conspracy theories. unfortunately i was half asleep at the time and only really caught the one about the film in the cameras being unable to withstand the differential in heat between the light and shade. just googled the answer i sort of half-remember hearing:

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[I]There is no atmosphere to efficiently couple lunar surface heat to devices such as cameras not in direct contact with it. In a vacuum, only radiation remains as a heat transfer mechanism. The physics of radiative heat transfer are thoroughly understood, and the proper use of passive optical coatings and paints was adequate to control the temperature of the film within the cameras; lunar module temperatures were controlled with similar coatings that gave it its gold color. Also, while the Moon's surface does get very hot at lunar noon, every Apollo landing was made shortly after lunar sunrise at the landing site. During the longer stays, the astronauts did notice increased cooling loads on their spacesuits as the sun continued to rise and the surface temperature increased, but the effect was easily countered by the passive and active cooling systems.[51], pp. 165–67 The film was not in direct sunlight, so it wasn't overheated.*

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