Celebrate NASA’s 60th birthday with these vintage photos from space

One small step for a man and his camera, one giant leap for photography.

By Jeanette D. Moses | Published Oct 2, 2018 5:44 PM EDT

News

astronaut saluting flag on the moon — Courtesy NASA

Sixty years ago NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) officially became NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the early days of the space race began. The Apollo program launched a few years later in 1961 and was designed to get a human being to the moon and bring them back home safely.

These missions to the moon resulted in tons of advances for the scientific community, but they also brought back some amazing imagery. Bill Anders ‘Earthrise’ photograph, which was snapped during Apollo 8, became one of the most iconic images ever taken, but there are plenty of other awe-inspiring images that were taken during these trips. The Project Apollo Archive collects them all in one place and features images taken during all eleven of the manned-Apollo missions.

The archive is extensive and it includes a lot of images that in this day and age would be considered throwaway frames. A number of them are underexposed and out of focus, but if you are willing to dig you can find some incredible vintage shots from space: like the frames where you can see modified Hasselblad cameras strapped to the chests of astronauts.

Check out the gallery below to see some of our favorite frames from this massive archive.

astronauts together in space — Two astronauts hanging out during a mission to the moon. From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

cool astronaut in space — Shades in space. From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

juice pack in space — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

shaving in space — Even astronauts need a close shave. *Courtesy NASA*

astronaut fixing ship — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

Astronaut standing on the moon — An astronaut stands on the moon with a modified Hasselblad camera. *Courtesy NASA*

astronaut on the moon in color — Leaving the spacecraft to explore the moon. *Courtesy NASA*

astronaut on the moons surface — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

astronauts photographing each other — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

collecting moon samples — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

earth over moons horizon — Earth seen from the moon. *Courtesy NASA*

heart dug in moons surface — A heart dug into the surface of the moon. *Courtesy NASA*

Moon exploration — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

A footprint on the moon. *Courtesy NASA*

moon photography in color — The surface of the moon. From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

moon terrain — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

space technology on the moon — From the Project Apollo Archive. *Courtesy NASA*

astronaut with the american flag — America makes it to the moon. *Courtesy NASA*

Jeanette D. Moses

Jeanette D. Moses is a New York City–based filmmaker and photographer known for her intimate depictions of New York's creative communities. She’s been a contributor to PopPhoto since 2014, specializing in interviews, gear reviews, and all things analog.

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