The National Archive Digitizes Apollo Mission Footage at High Resolution

National Archive employees collaborated closely with filmmakers to digitize their film footage at high resolution for better clarity than would have been possible with original technical restrictions.

Miller did not exploit this aspect in his movie. Instead, Miller used this image of astronauts wearing spacesuits as an allusion to their monumental mission and its associated strangeness.

Apollo 11

People often talk about Apollo 11 in terms of rocket power and spacecraft ingenuity; but its broadcast to millions of television viewers was equally remarkable – this marked the first live sporting event to ever be shown live and in high definition!

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended from their command module Columbia into their lunar module Eagle for their moon landing mission. Once their lunar module separated from their command module Columbia, Armstrong and Aldrin could make their moon landing attempt.

Armstrong and Aldrin needed to communicate with Mission Control several times before they could step out of the lunar module. The first shows them checking equipment; Aldrin then confirms that their radar had indeed locked onto the moon’s surface despite some divergences between its readings on both systems; however, according to him the Primary Guidance and Navigation System (PGNS) indicated lower altitude than indicated on radar, prompting him to contact Mission Control about it.

After their lunar module arrived on the lunar surface, astronauts embarked on their two and a half-hour moonwalk, during which time they deployed science experiments, photographed their surroundings, read a plaque on the lunar module, displayed an American flag and collected rock and soil samples to take back home to Earth.

Apollo 12

After the success of Apollo 11, NASA decided to send another crew. On November 14, 1969, astronauts Charles ConradW (Commander), Richard GordonW (Command Module Pilot), and Alan BeanW (Lunar Module Pilot) set sail from Cape Canaveral for what would become the longest lunar surface stay ever: 10 days on lunar surface!

As it ascended, the spacecraft was twice struck by lightning which caused its circuit breakers to trip and lead to power outage. But Bean remembered where to find the SCE to Aux switch, immediately switching auxiliary power, thus saving and continuing his mission.

This mission marked the first use of a non-free-return trajectory, saving fuel while enabling tracking antennae at Goldstone, California to follow the lunar module (LM) descent. Along with landing on and exploring Mare Tranquillitatis, Conrad and Bean were also charged with inspecting Surveyor 3 probe that had landed two years prior. They managed to retrieve several components from its lunar robot as well as transmit images back home.

An integral component of this mission was the establishment of an ALSEP scientific station on the surface of the Moon, during which time astronauts took numerous photos and collected samples of lunar rock and soil for analysis.

Apollo 13

An elegant montage from Apollo 13 spacecraft as it flew around the far side of the Moon in 1970. The camera lingers briefly over an impressive mountain-carved crater before showing us Earth emerging above its horizon.

After an oxygen tank explosion crippled their Command Module and sent its crew scrambling to survive in space, oxygen and water supplies ran short, food became inedible, and temperatures plummeted to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. They turned to Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat but had to shut down most systems so as to conserve power for their return home journey.

The film showcases the remarkable teamwork between astronauts and Mission Control in Houston as well as global reactions to their perilous mission. Additionally, recordings featuring Lovell speaking to Marilyn during two crucial engine bursts can also be heard.

Director Peter Middleton set out to achieve authenticity in this documentary, drawing heavily from astronaut Jim Lovell’s personal archives and working alongside his daughter to capture the essence of their mission as well as post-mission interviews with fellow astronauts and their families.

Apollo 14

The Apollo 14 mission took place from January 31 – February 9, 1971 and was the eighth crewed mission in NASA’s Apollo program. It marked the first landing of any crewed mission to land on the lunar highlands – brightly cratered regions above dark maria regions which dominate its surface – making its two day stay on lunar surface record-setting long. Although as with previous missions it did encounter problems, but its crew managed to resolve each one successfully.

At 04:50 UTC on February 5, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell completed their inaugural extra vehicular activity (EVA). Once set up with TV camera (taking care not to point at Sun), S-band dish antenna, and U.S. flag, the astronauts began deploying ALSEP experiments approximately 150 meters (495 feet) west of Antares up to 30 meters beyond.

Shepard and Mitchell spent this period becoming acquainted with the lunar terrain. Soon enough they realized navigating it would be more difficult than anticipated; due to its lack of an atmosphere it was hard to gauge distances accurately, and its surface was rough and uneven; additionally they found it difficult to perceive colors accurately.

Apollo 15

Launched July 26th 1971, Apollo 15 marked the fourth and final lunar landing mission and first to feature a Lunar Roving Vehicle. For over 181/2 hours after landing on the Moon’s surface, Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin explored its surface in detail – retrieving 170 pounds of samples through four Extravehicular Activities or EVAs.

The Lunar Rover enabled them to quickly explore Hadley Rille and its surroundings more efficiently than previous missions had allowed. On their third and last EVA Scott and Irwin explored Hadley Delta region for geological specimens including Genesis Rock (an ore of nearly pure plagioclase exposed to extreme heat and pressure at an early point in Moon history).

Mapping cameras at the landing site captured this oblique view, showing the Apennine Mountains with their twin peaks of Mt. Hadley and Hadley Delta as well as portions of Hadley Rille. Irwin descended a ladder toward a footpad which he managed to secure with his right hand, before returning to his LM and commencing their return journey home after conducting a short EVA mission that involved deploying subsatellite satellites before continuing their return journey homeward.

Apollo 16

Apollo 5, launched on April 16, 1972, was the final manned mission in the Apollo program. This film captures astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II and Charles M. Duke Jr. during their third and final extravehicular activity (EVA). They are investigating volcanic rocks at Descartes Highlands – an area in the far equatorial region of the Moon.

On the soundtrack of this clip, Jack can be seen uphill of the rover collecting soil samples with his rake while the gnomon on the ground provides light readings. Gene enters frame from the right carrying a sample bag for Jack to collect his work. Geologists concluded that this area contained abundant breccia which likely formed through impact cratering rather than volcanic action as was found elsewhere on the Moon.

On their second EVAs Duke and Young stopped at House Rock, an immense chunk of breccia likely formed through similar processes as that seen at other places on Mars. After spending some time here they returned to their LM and began configuring it for their journey back to Earth.

Apollo 17

As much as we focus on the Apollo program’s rocket power and spacecraft design, it is also important to remember its impactful communication strategy. One iconic image from that mission was a 70mm Hasselblad photograph taken 28,000 miles away of Earth which became a symbol of environmental awareness – hence Earth Day!

Apollo 17 was led by Eugene Cernan and featured Harrison “Jack” Schmitt as one of its astronauts trained as geologists to fly into space. They utilized the lunar rover to collect samples from its surface; in this video you can see him using it and losing his balance and falling flat on his face only seconds later before getting back up onto his feet again.

An external camera mounted to the lunar module captures an incredible view of Eagle’s descent to the Sea of Tranquility and Armstrong radioing its arrival: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. Eagle has landed.” In another clip from this mission, astronauts used a reaction control system to keep Eagle from landing too fast before using its footpads as weights to tether it before releasing it back onto lunar surfaces surface.