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Nvidia's new real-time global illumination system has been utilised in a fascinating new demo created using Unreal Engine 4, accurately replicating one of the most iconic images of the Apollo 11 lunar mission - and in the process disproving a slew of baseless conspiracy theories that have surrounded the moon landings over the last few years.In effect, Nvidia has created a fully 3D real-time simulation of the moment Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin began his descent from the lunar module, accurately mapping the astronaut, the LM itself along with the lunar surface. Every light-source present in the scene has been replicated in the demo, and the tweakables available within the demo help to explain some of the peculiar properties in the photo that some - rather sadly - believe to have been faked back in 1969.
For example, the lack of stars in the photo raised the suspicion of many, when the simple truth is that the lighting on the moon is so harsh that the camera's exposure was very quick - so fleeting in fact that the light from the stars didn't affect the film. In the demo, the exposure level can be increased, whiting out most of the image, but revealing the accurately-mapped stars in the sky.
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