Why didn't the Prometheus pick up the signal from LV-426 that the Nostromo investigated?

On the Prometheus Blue-Ray, the Peter Weyland Files say the Weyland knew of the signal and that David was the only one on board who knew of the signal emitting from the derelict's beacon. I would imagine they kept this a secret from the rest of the crew. However, this tid bit of info was not placed on the blue ray by Scott or the writers of Prometheus, therefore it is not to be considered canon.

Because Peter Weyland had already obtained the co-ordinates from the beacon/signal for the location of LV-426, using ECIU software, apparently stolen from his rivals Yutani Corp; before Shaw and Holloway ever explained their thesis to him charting the location of LV-223 from what they referred to as a "Star Map".  

    Weyland would then embbed a David-8 android with the Prometheus crew as per-standard protocol, ofwhich only this particular android and himself would ever know of the loction of LV-426. Weyland planned to head there next, IF he did not find what he was looking for on LV-223.

I thought LV-426's xenomorphs were supposed to have been created after Prometheus' time.

In certain extent I hope the mystery of Space Jockey will never be revealed on future sequels. The engineer concept is interesting but it somehow ruins the imagination. 

Wasn't the Prometheus like 20 or so years before the Nostromo events?

I think the timeline is too tight.  It will look funny when our descendants watch these movies in the year 2100 or so, just as we find 1960's sci fi movies set in the 21st century funny.

Even Blade Runner looks funny now.  We tend to overestimate scientific progress.

I hope they leave some mystery to the original movie. I hope they don't reveal (at some point) that the engineer in the chair (Alien 1979) is David or some other future character. It's nice to not know how that ship crash landed on LV-426. 

"Even Blade Runner looks funny now.  We tend to overestimate scientific progress.

Exactly. It's like going to Disney World to ride Space Mountain. I love hearing the robot voice say "In the year 2000, we'll all be living on Mars." Whoops!

There's a LOT of things that can totally bollix a radio signal. There's a gas giant with rings in that area, and it's magnetic field flux alone could stifle the signal for decades or centuries at a time until it fluctuates and a 'window' opens randomly. Orbital positions also factor in as well.

The beacon may also operate in a non-continuous mode to conserve power, say operates for five years, then shuts off for 5 years.

There might have been some pre-programming aboatd the ship's computer to 'not register it', thus the signal IS there but the computer says 'Nope, nothing to see here'.

The derelict was there a very very long time by the look of it and the space jockey, i think, but just a theory, it ties in with what went down with the engineers on LV-223 and their fates. 

I hope they leave some mystery to the original movie

Agree AcidBlood. Seeing David get into the Derilect pilot seat and having it end there would make things too "spoon fed" imo.

Thank you Ryan_C, I should have included a more clear timeline.

The events of Prometheus were around the end of the year 2093. 

The Engineer transmission was picked up by the Nostromo crew in 2122.

So, my point was they were looking for a signal from the Engineers on the way to LV-223 on the Prometheus but were unable to pick up the Engineer signal that caught the Nostromo A.I.'s attention on LV-426 in 2122. And this signal is supposed to be "thousands" of years old.

To summarize, the signal on LV-426 that Nostromo checked out looks like it began to transmit after the events of Prometheus or A.I. or corporate kept the information "compartmentalized". 

Weyland Industries had been looking at the system since 2039.

When viewing the Space Jockey, the Nostromo crew theorized that the Space Jockey (below) was thousands of years old and fossilized. 

Why hadn’t the colonists on LV-426 picked up the signal from the juggernaut in 2157?

“Although there are unsubstantiated reports that the beacon was deliberately turned off in 2135 (see Report REF#MARLOW58821). What could still be seen of the ship by 2157 was believed to be part of the Ilium Mountain Range, nearly 30KM from the terraformers’ compound."

Weyland-Yutani Report (page 83)

I'm sure this report above is in reference to Henry Marlow, the captain of the salvage vessel Anesidora around the year 2135.

This vessel discovered the juggernaut on LV-426 and Marlow said to his crew:

"I'll find the beacon and shut it off. Don't want anybody else finding this place."

(Source: Alien: Isolation)

Hi, Ingeniero, where have you been?

What does the WY report write about the position of LV-426 and LV-223? Are they in the same solar system (around the same planet known as Calpamos)?

The Nostromo crew theorized the derelict was thousands of years old, but they had no way of knowing its age and did not run any type of tests in the movie to determine its age.

It is a common error to assume that LV 223 and LV 426 are moons orbiting a planet (a gas giant named Calpamos) in the Zeta Reticuli star system.

According to Wikipedia, Zeta Reticuli is a binary star system/double star without planets. As of today, no planets orbiting the two stars of Zeta Reticuli have been discovered. Zeta Reticuli is close enough to earth to be visible with the naked eye from the southern hemisphere in very dark skies.

In "Prometheus" it is never explicitly stated or shown that Zeta Reticuli is the destination of the mission. During the briefing Holloway shows an unnamed star system that consists of a single sun orbited by several planets. This cannot be Zeta Reticuli.

The Prometheus didn't pick up the signal which the Nostromo received because LV 223 and LV 426 are not in the same star system. LV 426 is located "just short of Zeta 2 Reticuli" (according to Lambert in "Alien"). LV 223, the destination of the Prometheus mission, must be located somewhere else.

If LV 223 and LV 426 were close to one another, if they were moons orbiting the same planet then it would be strange that LV 426 is chosen for colonization in the middle of the 22nd century while LV 223 remains uncolonized. LV 426 has no atmosphere, hence the need for an atmosphere processing station ("Aliens"). LV 223 has an atmosphere and even primitive organic life ("Prometheus"). Furthermore, it would be stranger still that LV 426 is colonized while neighboring moons remain unexplored. We can safely assume that all planets, planetoids and moons of a given star system are carefully explored (with technical means or even by human expeditions) before one of them is chosen for colonization. If LV 223 were located in the vicinity of LV 426, it would be explored at the same time as LV 426, and the abandoned installation of the engineers and maybe even the remains of the Prometheus would probably be discovered. But at the time of "Aliens" (2179) mankind has no knowledge of engineers and xenomorphs. Ripley's report about both is met with incredulity during the hearing in "Aliens". When she mentions a "derelict spacecraft" nobody is astonished and bothers to ask questions. The members of the commission seem to think that Ripley is talking nonsense. This means that LV 223 and LV 426 are not close to one another and that after the disappearance of the Nostromo mankind has had no further encounters with engineers (living or dead) and xenomorphs, at least no encounters that became common knowledge. The colonists on LV 426 didn’t even discover the engineer spacecraft themselves although at the time of "Aliens" they had been living on the moon for over 20 years.

@Andrew 1976

Correct that it is never explicitly stated Prometheus that Zeta 2 Reticuli is destination of the Prometheus mission, but Ridley himself explicitly stated that was the location in a 2012 interview and in the "Origins" featurette. The official Weyland Industries Timeline on the Blu Ray, written by Damon Lindelof, also states "Weyland astronomers discover MULTIPLE moons and a ringed planet just outside the Zeta 2 Reticuli System, which are possibly able to support life. Weyland expects to travel there within the century." The expedition to go there was the Prometheus. It was also named as the system the Engineers gave directions to in Spaith's script. It's laso shown on one of the Blu Ray menus, and listed several times in the Wyland Yutani Report book.

When the director, writers, marketing campaign, and supplemental products are all saying that is where it is, then that is where it is.

It may seem to conflict with Aliens story line, but Aliens also seems to contradict Alien by making the company seem unaware that there is an alien ship on LV-426, when they actually knew all about it and sent the Nostromo there. Of course, those contradictions can be explained in several different ways, but there it is.

Also, minor point, but LV-426 does have an atmosphere. You can't have the severe wind we saw blowing in Alien without something to blow :)

It is fun watching people tying to piece together a universe / story that's so fragment not even the creator knows what's up :D .

But using what we do have... yes  supposedly Prometheus is before AC and AC before other films before alien.  So maybe its not crashed yet. And yes the outside looks fossilized of the jockeys suit but maybe not inside as such. That was one of the best bits for me the fossilized bit. It brought up thoughts of wow it's 100s of thousands of years old or been there for millions? And eggs still alive? Vast and the crazyness of what might be out there captured... possibly about to become stale and  small  :( ...

We have to remember that the system ZIIR was largely fictionalised for the movies. WHen it comes to fiction, all bets are off, except for what is considered canon within the films.

Thank you for noticing Ati. I was traveling with family and out of touch for a little while. I'm finishing up a few new topics and will post again soon.

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Andrew1975 - Thank you for your informative comment. I had found the same info you provided, that's why I asked Ingeni about the WY Report. The problem is added by the fact that sometimes Scott mentioned 'planet ZetaIIReticuli'. Bummm!

Fact: There is no proof in the movies that LV-426 and LV-223 are in the same solar/planet system.

Off topic: 1975 is a special number for me, and my fav name is Andrew...

Ati, in regards to your question above about what the Weyland-Yutani report says, see below.

LV-223

I found on page 45 of the Weyland-Yutani Report:

"LV-223

Located in the Zeta II Reticuli system: 1,400 km diameter."

LV-426

I found on page 70 of the Weyland-Yutani Report:

"In 2122, twelve months after departing Thedus, the crew was awakened from hypersleep when Mother intercepted a transmission of unknown origin being broadcast from the planetoid LV-426 in the Zeta II Reticuli system."

Also, on page 84 of the report:

"Calpamos

The fourth planet orbiting Zeta II in the Reticuli system. Much like Saturn, Calpamos is a ringed gas giant, but with only three moons of significant size, the most notable of which is LV-426, commonly known as Acheron.

LV-426

1200 km diameter, .86 Earth's gravity."

@ Kethol

Thank you for the reference to Scott's and Lindelof's statements about Zeta Reticuli being the destination of the Prometheus mission. But I think that such vital information should be provided in the movie, not in some commentary or interview or elsewhere. If it isn't provided in the movie, it is difficult to accept it as canon.

Unlike you, it don't find it strange that at the time of the colonization of LV 426 in the 2150s the company is unaware of the derelict spacecraft. Decades have passed since the disappearance of the Nostromo. It is reasonable to assume that in 2122 only a few people knew that there was "something" on LV 426. After the Nostromo got lost, these people covered their tracks, destroyed any evidence that may have existed, and when they died they took their knowledge with them to the grave.

Speaking of LV 426: I always found it odd that in "Aliens" no explanation is given why such a barren, desolate and inhospitable moon like LV 426 was chosen for colonization. What makes LV 426 worth being colonized? Are there any mineral resources that can be extracted? The colony is a huge investment; what does Weyland-Yutani get in return? And why didn't the colonists discover the derelict spacecraft themselves? The moon must have been surveyed and mapped prior to or after colonization. Such a huge metallic object like the spacecraft shouldn't go undetected. That the colonists didn't discover it is all the more puzzling given the small size of LV 426. In the director's cut of "Alien" (but not in the theatrical version) the diameter of LV 426 is given as 1,200 kilometers. LV 426 is thus much smaller than our own moon. James Cameron was unaware of that particular fact when he conceived the story for "Aliens" and wrote the screenplay. But the spacecraft cannot be located very far from Hadley's Hope. Surely the Jorden family wouldn't travel several days across rocky terrain just to check the coordinates sent by Burke.

@ Ingeniero

Is the diameter of LV 223 really given as only 1,400 kilometers? I find that hard to believe given the huge mountains we see in "Prometheus". During the descent the Prometheus passes a mountain almost twice as high as Mount Everest (52,000 feet according to Ford). Judging by the views from space the diameter of LV 223 must be larger than a mere 1,400 kilometers.

Great points Andrew1975, thank you very much for the detail. Great point again on the hight of the mountain on LV-223...the planet much be shaped like a spike ball.

In the 2150's, I am not surprised either that there are private agendas (Mother, Special Order 937) and corporate secrets spread across an empire that reaches across to other planetary systems.

I checked LV-223 again on page 45, 1,400 km diameter.

I was a bit surprised at how small LV-223 was in the report. Also, the writers did make a mistake on when the scientists first met Peter Weyland in 2079. The Weyland-Yutani Report incorrectly reads 2089.

"Such a huge metallic object like the spacecraft shouldn't go undetected. That the colonists didn't discover it is all the more puzzling given the small size of LV 426."

The report does read that the derelict craft on LV-426 was thought to be part of Ilium Mountain range in surveys in 2157 after volcanic activity and 30 km away from Hadley's Hope.

I believe that the age assumption that the craft found on LV-426 was very old will be vital to the upcoming story line Kethol.

The Prometheus didn't pick up the signal from LV-426 in the 2090's but the Nostromo did in 2122 then the colonists didn't in 2150's.

@Andrew1975

"Unlike you, it don't find it strange that at the time of the colonization of LV 426 in the 2150s the company is unaware of the derelict spacecraft. "

I actually don't find that strange at all, and never had any issue with it. Others here have on numerous occasions.

As far as the Zeta Reticuli location of LV-223/426 not being canonical because it was never mentioned in the movies - I doubt we will ever have the exact star system mentioned in one of Ridley's prequels. It seems he leaves anything specific like that out on purpose.

As far as Fox, Ridley, and the script writers go though, LV-426 and LV-223 are both in Zeta 2 Reticuli. Until they change it.

@ Ingeniero and Kethol - Thank you for your comments.

I remember vaguely that some years ago I read somewhere that the script of "Alien" (or a draft of the script) contained the following scene: After entering the derelict spacecraft, Dallas, Kane and Lambert find the device emitting the signal. They examine it and then turn it off. It’s a pity that this scene was not included in the movie. It would explain why the signal was never again received by human spacecrafts or deep-space probes.

Ingeniero - Thank you for the info.

You are most welcome Ati.