14 DAY TRIAL // NASA's Apollo program ran from 1961 until 1975. It was the US space agency's third human spaceflight program, and it included both manned and unmanned space missions. The program culminated with a series of manned Moon landings between 1969 and 1972.
The first Moon walk was accomplished during the Apollo 11 mission. Thus, it was on July 20, 1969, that astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin landed their module on the surface of the orb, and became the first people ever to set foot on the Moon.
After this historic moment, there were another five missions that landed astronauts on the Moon, of which the last one was completed in December 1972. During these manned Moon landings, NASA's Apollo program delivered a total of 12 astronauts to the surface of the satellite.
It's been decades since Neil Armstrong, the first human ever to walk on the Moon, took what he described as “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” but NASA's Apollo missions continue to fascinate. After all, they did make history.
And now photos documenting the missions are available online
Thousands of photos of astronauts walking on the surface of the Moon and of Earth as seen from the surface of the satellite were taken during the Apollo missions. About 13,000 of them, to be more precise.
NASA's has been holding on to them since the end of the Apollo program. Because of budget cuts, however, it never got around to publishing them. Until Kipp Teague, founder of the Project Apollo Archive, came around, that is.
You see, the space agency has agreed to let him have the photos and he's published them. Unedited and in high resolution, the photos are available on the Flickr page for the Project Apollo Archive.
As noted, there are thousands of them, so tread lightly. And by this we mean better take the rest of the week off and make yourself a big bowl of popcorn before venturing to have a look at them.
“All mission photographs in this new gallery are courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, specifically the Johnson Space Center,” space enthusiast Kipp Teague writes in a message accompanying the photos.
“Thank you for your interest and for helping to keep alive the spirit of space exploration and its history,” the founder of the Project Apollo Archive adds.
Note: If you're short on time and can't swift through the cohort of photos Kipp Teague has posted on Flickr just yet, here are some of the absolute coolest.
