Iranian Space Official: Photo Shows Wrong Monkey 89
littlesparkvt writes "One of two official packages of photos of Iran's famed simian space traveler depicted the wrong monkey, but a primate really did fly into space and return safely to Earth, a senior Iranian space official confirmed Saturday. The two different monkeys shown in the photos released by Iran’s state media caused some international observers to wonder whether the monkey had died in space or that the launch didn’t go well."
Iran has a history with PhotoShop (Score:5, Informative)
So, Iran's got a bit of history with PhotoShop.:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/in-an-iranian-image-a-missile-too-many/ [nytimes.com]
It seems quite reasonable for folks to question ANY photographic evidence / propaganda / news releases from Iranian sources.
Re:Lies! (Score:4, Informative)
To believe otherwise goes against our religion, and dis-believers shall be beheaded! - Signed, The current Ayatollah of Iran
Official Correction by a Senior Official of the Ayatollah's Space Commission
The Ayatollah who signed that statement was not in fact "the" current Ayatollah of Iran, as there are actually 31 Ayatollahs of Iran [wikipedia.org]. He was simply a man sporting similarly-patterned headwear. However, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei [wikipedia.org] agrees with and endorses the statement, which makes it as true and internationally-significant as the indisputable fact that Iran has put a monkey into space and returned him safely.
Furthermore, the previous senior official who released the signed statement has been beheaded for his failure to recognize an actual Ayatollah. Interviews for those seeking to succeed that official will take place starting Monday, as the Grand Ayatollah will be occupied watching the Superbowl today. He graciously thanks all of the Iranian citizens who have donated their satellite dishes [nytimes.com] to make this possible.
Re:So (Score:4, Informative)
According FoxNews (should be valid enough for most!):
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/02/iranian-space-official-says-photo-shows-wrong-monkey/ [foxnews.com]
Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity, also said this week's monkey space flight was real, but he had a slightly different explanation for the photo mix-up. He claimed the light gray monkey with the mole died during a failed space mission in 2011.
"The monkey with the mole was the one launched in 2011 that died. The rocket failed. It did not get into space," McDowell said. "They just mixed that footage with the footage of the 2013 successful launch."
Iran has never confirmed that a monkey died in 2011, or that there was a failed mission that year.