Post #3121246
2026-06-05 12:50 UTC
I know people hate AI, but I fed the OP pic to Claude and asked it to explain the code and maybe gice modern comparisons to something like Python.
This is AGC (Apollo Guidance Computer) assembly code from the lunar module’s landing radar routines. Let me walk through it:
P63SPOT3 — “Is the antenna in position yet?”
CA BIT6
EXTEND
RAND CHAN33
EXTEND
BZF P63SPOT4
Reads a hardware channel (CHAN33) to check the state of the landing radar antenna. BZF means “Branch if Zero” — if the antenna bit is already set, skip ahead.
if radar_channel_33 & BIT6 == 0:
goto("P63SPOT4")
“Nope, not there yet — bug the astronaut”
CAF CODE500
TC BANKCALL
CADR GOPERF1
Loads error code 500 and calls GOPERF1 — this triggers a crew alert, literally asking the astronaut to manually crank the antenna into position. The comment says it all: “PLEASE CRANK THE SILLY THING AROUND”
display_alert(code=500, message="Antenna not in position, please fix manually")
await_crew_response()
“Did they fix it or bail?”
TCF GOTOPOOH # TERMINATE
TCF P63SPOT3 # PROCEED — SEE IF HE'S LYING
Two possible outcomes: crew hits terminate (GOTOPOOH — yes, really), or hits proceed and the code loops back to P63SPOT3 to check again. “See if he’s lying” is the actual comment, meaning: verify they actually moved it.
if crew_pressed == "terminate":
goto("GOTOPOOH")
else:
goto("P63SPOT3") # trust but verify
P63SPOT4 — “Okay, antenna’s good, initialize radar”
TC BANKCALL
CADR SETPOS1
Calls SETPOS1 to initialize the landing radar into position 1.
bankcall(SETPOS1) # configure radar for landing approach
“And we’re off”
TC POSTJUMP
CADR BURNBABY
BURNBABY. That’s the actual name of the burn routine. Jumps to the powered descent initiation — the engine ignition sequence for landing.
goto("BURNBABY") # 🔥 start the descent burn
The whole thing is basically: check hardware → nag human if needed → loop until fixed → initialize systems → light the engine. Written by people with a great sense of humor under enormous pressure, in 4KB of RAM.
Replies (1)
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@Trail@lemmy.world 2026-06-05 19:24
So, Claude was given the explanation on its training data. Not hugely surprising.