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2.383: Number of the image
On Christmas Eve 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 – Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders – was about to get a first glimpse of the hidden face of the Moon.
"We launched the spacecraft engine for about four minutes to slow down enough to enter lunar orbit," says Borman. "We are halfway when we looked down and there was the moon."
"The lunar surface was terribly afflicted with meteorites, holes, craters, volcanic residues," he says. "But one of the things that has struck me is that there is absolutely no color, be it gray or black or white."
"It was a very interesting first vision of a different world."
But the most captivating sight appeared as they returned to the fourth orbit and Anders spotted the Earth in the control module window.
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"Oh my God, look at this picture over there! There is the Earth going up. Wow, is it pretty! He exclaimed, "You have a color film, Jim? Give me a roll of color, quick, will you?"
These cartridges containing 70mm film reels could easily be exchanged for the Hasselblad cameras of the crew.
"Take several, take several," Lovell said. "Here, give it to me!"
"Wait a minute, just let me fix it here now," Anders replied, "calm down …"
Once the film developed on Earth several weeks later, the NASA 2383 image (and the frames on each side) would become one of the most famous images of all time.
The photo, showing Earth in the context of the barren moon, was one of the unexpected achievements of the Apollo program.
The Earth was the only thing in the entire universe to have any color – a beautiful view, we are very lucky to live on this planet – Frank Borman
"I think it's probably one of the most significant photos humans have ever taken," Borman admits. "The Earth was the only thing in the universe that has any color – a beautiful view, we are very lucky to live on this planet."
(You can find out more about the Apollo 8 Mission in this radio show)
75: Minutes of Emmy Award-Winning TV Shows (Apollo 7)
In the run-up to the Apollo missions, many NASA engineers and astronauts were extremely opposed to the idea of wearing TV cameras for live broadcasts from space. It was frivolous and would interfere with the mission, they argued.
The formidable head of mission control, Chris Kraft, decided otherwise and insisted that television was a way to show US taxpayers how their money was spent.
We floated around and just showed off what we could do – it was not a good photograph – Walt Cunningham
The first astronauts to carry a television camera in orbit were members of the Apollo 7 crew – Wally Schirra, Don Eisele and Walt Cunningham. After a shaky start, they quickly figured out how to add a small showbiz to the space program.
"We called it the Wally, Walt and Don show," Cunningham explains. "We had a friend who gave us a few small cards that we could hold in front of the TV and other than that, we floated around and just showed off what we could do – it was not a good photograph . "
Despite their shortcomings, these first space-based television programs – seven in total – nevertheless attracted an enthusiastic audience. They gave the missions an impossible immediacy with the film or the photograph.
"I remember my fascination with on-board TV at 7 am, "says Gerry Griffin, Apollo Flight Director. "But I did not take long to realize that we were going to have to work on it, because you can not settle for [the camera] to things and not much to say. "
When the Apollo 7 team returned to Earth, they were awarded an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for their efforts.
Subsequent missions would push the boundaries of television technology with enhanced cameras, transmitters and content. Apollo 8 was broadcast for the first time live from the lunar orbit and, during Apollo 10, the team produced the first color television shows of the Moon.
64: Diameter of the Parkes Radio Telescope, in meters
Diffuse from the relatively bright and controlled conditions of the Apollo spacecraft was very different from the transmission of the first images of the surface of another world. But NASA understood that it was essential to spread the first steps of humanity on the Moon.
The video camera built for the lunar surface was based on a military technology developed to film at night in the Vietnamese jungle. He had climbed into a compartment on the side of the lunar lander that contained the surface experiments. Armstrong opened the compartment door when he came out of the hatch and started going down the ladder. The astronaut then removed the camera and placed it on a tripod.
The astronauts may have been on the sea of tranquility on the moon, but it was the ocean of storms here – John Sarkissian
NASA was taking no risks in ensuring that the live video reaches Earth and arranging for transmissions to be received by 64-meter-wide satellite dishes in Goldstone, California, and Parkes, New York. South Wales, Australia.
The Parkes engineers spent months working with NASA to prepare the giant radio telescope to receive the first televised images of the lunar surface. On July 21, 1969, everything was ready for the big event but the weather suddenly changed.
"A few minutes before the start of the moon walk, a violent gust hit the telescope as the winds were blowing faster than the speed of safety," said John Sarkissian, operations scientist at Parkes. "But John Bolton, the first legendary director of the observatory, kept his cool, told his men to stay put and, just when turning on the television camera, the Moon is passed in the field of view and we received the images. "
"The astronauts may have been on the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon," says Sarkisian, "but it was the ocean of storms here."
One disappointment was that the first television coverage of the Moon was not in color. This was to take place during Apollo 12. Unfortunately, when astronaut Alan Bean was preparing the camera on the lunar surface, he accidentally directed it to the Sun and fried the electronic components.
During the last Apollo missions, a television camera was attached to the lunar vehicle to give viewers a view of the pilot on the moon. The camera was remote controlled from Earth, which also allowed operators to capture one of the most interesting shots in the history of television. As Apollo 17 took off from the Moon, the camera tilts to follow its trajectory (You can watch the video here.)
Learn more about Parkes here
600 Million: Estimated Worldwide TV Audience (Apollo 11)
About 600 million people saw Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the lunar surface. At that time, it was the largest television audience in the world.
But by the time of Apollo 13, nine months later, the world had already lost interest. While Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise went to the moon, none of the US national television networks broadcast their programs.
"It was the third time that we were going to land on the moon and the media was not paying attention," said Sy Liebergot, who is responsible for all critical life support systems for the Apollo 13 spacecraft.
Apollo was once again a world news event. Millions of people have followed the spectacular rescue of the mission, an early example of continued coverage of the news.
"They assumed we had landed twice and they decided that the public was no longer interested in the fact that we were going to land on the moon."
"There was nothing ordinary about going to the moon, landing there, taking off and going home," said Liebergot. "But they did not care."
A few minutes after the end of the broadcast of Apollo 13, the television channels have changed their minds. Fifty – five hours and 46 minutes after the flight began, the mission 's controllers asked the crew to mix oxygen and hydrogen in the tanks fueling the fuel cells of the aircraft. spacecraft. The routine procedure ensured that the liquid in the containers was well mixed and that the gauges gave accurate readings.
"Houston, we had a problem," reported the commander of Apollo 13, Jim Lovell.
Once the spacecraft ejected and the crew in danger of death, Apollo was again a global event, with millions of people following the spectacular rescue of the mission, an early example of continued coverage.
28,000: blue marble image distance taken in miles
During the five-year Apollo program, television coverage shifted from quirky, improvised home-made black and white films to choreographic color panoramas of the lunar landscape. But compared to today's high definition television, much of it has a grainy and dated look.
The most enduring images of Apollo come from a movie – as current as it was when it was shot. The archive includes dramatic 70mm wide-screen images of the Saturn V heading towards the launch pad, as well as 16mm documentary footage of the mission control. Cinema cameras were even mounted in the rockets and ejected to fall on Earth in cans.
The image of Earthrise captured by Bill Anders at Apollo 8 was a happy accident. But another image of the Earth has been planned in every detail
Some of the best movies in this movie have been used with an amazing effect in the recently released Apollo 11 movie.
Similarly, the still images reported by Apollo astronauts are still clear, inspiring, and relevant. And these are two images of the Earth that stand out.
The image of Earthrise captured by Bill Anders at Apollo 8 was a happy accident. But another image of the Earth has been planned down to the last detail.
When the crew of Apollo 17 headed to the Moon for the last time in 1972, they were asked to take a picture looking at the Earth. The image – known as blue marble – offers a unique perspective of the entire Earth hanging in the darkness of space. Not only does this show the South Pole, but it places Africa – and not the United States – in the center.
Even when we return to the moon, these first images – especially those of the Earth – will occupy a special place in the history of humanity.
Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8, said: "I think that none of us have paid attention to the fact that we would go to the moon and that we would be more interested in the Earth. "
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