In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong of mission Apollo 11 became the first person to walk on the Moon.
Subsequent expeditions to the moon saw other heroic astronauts take even further "small steps for man," helping expand the knowledge of outer space for the rest of mankind. On each of these expeditions, photographs were taken to document the trips.
In the recent past, we've also seen awe-inspiring images of Earth taken from the International Space Station. Footage like this gives us an unbelievably thorough look at a realm beyond our own.
While out there on foreign terrain, the astronauts on the Apollo missions all wore chest-mounted Hasselblad cameras, and captured amazing, iconic images not only of the vast unknown landscape, but also of the Earth, the lunar orbit, and of each other.
Recently, NASA released incredible high-resolution images via the Apollo Archive on the image hosting website Flickr. A team of enthusiasts has worked over a decade to spruce up more than 8,400 stunning images, which captured the magnitude of the breathtaking excursions.
Scroll down to view these long-awaited photographs for yourself, and let us know what you think of them in the comments below!
For half a century, we have continued to marvel at one of the most incredible feats accomplished by mankind: the landing of the first humans on the Moon.
Carried out by NASA’s Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972, they’ve successfully allowed us to get a closer glimpse at the realms beyond Earth.
Very recently, NASA has released never-before-seen, high-resolution images taken during the Apollo missions. Taken by the astronauts with chest-mounted Hasselblad cameras, these iconic images now show riveting new details.
The original photographs were initially preserved and handed to enthusiasts, who, with the magic of technology, have made high-resolution digital copies. Kipp Teague, who runs the Apollo Archive, said that the process started more than a decade ago.
In this photo, Neil Armstrong, who commanded the Apollo 11 mission, captured Buzz Aldrin exiting from the Apollo Lunar Module, and climbing down a ladder in zero gravity.
Other photos showed varying landscapes of the lunar sphere, where the astronauts collected samples from gigantic boulders, like in this image from Apollo 16.
Many photos, like this one from Apollo 17, showed the astronauts' challenging trek across the Moon’s uneven terrain.
This image shows one of the famous footprints that the heroic astronauts of Apollo 11 left on the Moon.
All of the images were adjusted in their color and levels of brightness to very clearly show not only these footprints, but also to thoroughly reveal the craters, the machinery, the flags, and the astronauts themselves.
Many images showed just the sheer amount of equipment that the astronauts had to carry with them onto the surface to conduct experiments.
Several images also depicted the astronauts in their downtime going about their normal routines, like this one of Apollo 17 member Harrison Schmitt.
Yet others, like this one from Apollo 17, showed us tranquil scenes of the vast landscape, and reminded us of the sheer magnitude of the Universe.
Without the admirable teams behind the manned expeditions, we would not have come to understand so much about a foreign satellite. Because of their accomplishments, the unknown no longer seems daunting.
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