To mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the lunar surface, the US Space Agency has released a series of panoramic photos captured across the seven manned missions to our Moon.
According to NASA, each of the panoramas were stitched together from individual images taken by lunar-roving astronauts. Once back on planet Earth, NASA put Johnson Space Center’s imagery specialist Warren Harold to the task of properly compiling the images to build the immersive images that only hint at the “magnificent desolation” of the Moon.
Never falling short of their own high standards, NASA also called upon astro-geologist Harrison “Jack” Schmitt (he is, in fact, the only geologist to walk on the Moon) to verifying that the panoramas were accurately depicting the appearance of the moon and its geology from its surface.
The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing occurred on Saturday, June 20th 2019.
Figure 1: Panorama view of Apollo 12 lunar surface photos with lunar module pilot Alan L. Bean and the TV taken from just inside the rim of Surveyor Crater on the first moonwalk of the mission. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 2: Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos as lunar module pilot Charles M. Duke Jr. is photographed by commander John W. Young collecting lunar samples at Station No. 1 during the first moonwalk of the mission at the Descartes landing site. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 3: Panorama view of Apollo 16 commander Astronaut John W. Young, working at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) just prior to deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) during the first moonwalk of the mission on April 21, 1972. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 4: Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos of the Station 10 and Sample 381 Rock taken during the second moonwalk of the mission. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 5: Panorama view of Apollo 15 lunar module pilot James B. Irwin, using a scoop in making a trench in the lunar soil during the second moonwalk of the mission. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 6: Panorama view of Station 8 and (Mons) Mt. Hadley taken during the third moonwalk of the Apollo 15 mission. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 7: Panorama view of Apollo 15 lunar surface photos south of Station 2 taken by lunar module pilot James B. Irwin. Astronaut David R. Scott, mission commander, performs a task at the Lunar Roving Vehicle parked on the edge of Hadley Rille (Rima Hadley) during the first moonwalk mission. (Image courtesy of NASA.)
Figure 8: Panorama view of Apollo 17 lunar surface photos for Station 5 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site taken during the second moonwalk of the mission by Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. (Image courtesy of NASA.)