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Why did Mike Collins (Apollo 11) not remember whether or not he saw stars?

I saw a video of a 1969 press conference with the 3 Apollo 11 astronauts. Someone asked them what it was like to see the stars from space. At first all three of them just sat there looking dumb founded. Then Mike Collins said he "didn't remember seeing any." Buzz says he didn't see any. Neil was silent. (He looked off to the side as if embarrassed.)

Even though there is no air and the sky is black, much of our ability to see stars depends on how well our eyes are adjusted to the low light conditions. The whole time they were on the moon, the ground was well lit, like daytime on earth. Everything below their horizon is bright, so their eyes never get adjusted enough to see stars. If any of them had thought to look up for a few seconds, they would have seen stars as their eyes got adjusted. But looking up, in those suits and helmets, may not have been as easy as we'd think. They were probably dumbfounded in the interview because they were probably thinking, "Geez, how could I have been there for two days and never even think about looking at the stars??"

I suppose the answer is discipline and the ability to focus on duties. While they were there, it was almost with the same degree of rigor as if they were actors on stage in a play. Essentially every minute of their time was carefully planned. They were chosen for the program because of the very abilities and personalities which would have kept them from being distracted by such thoughts.

It might also be fair to say that the stars and sun were the ONLY things up there that they had seen many times before and were used to. The fascination of the terrain would be compelling, by comparison, I would think. We only see the pictures, but imagine standing in the middle of all that. If they looked up at anything, it would almost certainly have been the earth. I think if I saw that, I would be completely oblivious to stars.

Edit: after all those words, I have seen Raymond's answer and now believe that he is probably right. There may have been some truth to what I said, but the visor could be the primary reason. (Chuckle: I couldn't see the forest for the trees!)

SAS Survival Secrets Ep1 Pt 1/6

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