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Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images

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    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images
    • Getting a New (Better) Look at Old Lunar Images

    • Recovered Image of the Earth

      Image of the Earth recovered by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project.

      Credit: NASA

    • Launch of Lunar Orbiter 1

      Credit: NASA

    • Lunar Orbiter Spacecraft

      Lunar Orbiter spacecraft on display in the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC

      Credit: NASA/SpaceRef Interactive

    • Reconstructed Image of How Data Got Laid Out

      How did images get reconstructed? Strips of data were converted to analog signals, then to digital, and finally deciphered into a viewable image before being pieced together to form the entire exposure.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • The Earth Rising Above the Lunar Surface

      The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface in 1966.

      Credit: NASA

    • NASA Chart

      NASA chart from 1966.

      Credit: NASA

    • The world's first view of Earth

      The world's first view of Earth was transmitted by the United States Lunar Orbiter I. It was received at the NASA tracking station at Robledo De Chavela near Madrid, Spain

      Credit: NASA

    • Earth Orientation

      The top image shows the interim version of the retrieved photo. The bottom shows the orientation of Earth at time the photo was taken.

      Credit: LOIRP/NASA

    • Image Comparison

      See the difference between the original image (on the bottom) and the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project data on the top.

      Credit: LOIRP

    • Image Comparison

      Comparison of newly retrieved Lunar Orbiter imagery by LOIRP and high resolution scan of Lunar Orbiter images showing resolution enhancement.

      Credit: LOIRP/NASA

    • Searching Out Old Space Archives

      The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project is going through 1,478 tape cartridges and the drives at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. The tapes hold images from five unmanned Lunar Orbiter missions during the 1960s.

      Credit: James Martin/CNET

    • Each Ampex Drive Cost a Cool $300,000

      In the 1960s, these Ampex FR-900 tape drives cost $300,000.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Lunar Orbiter Tapes

      The magnetic tapes of images from the Lunar Orbiter missions were stored in Maryland for years. They later were moved to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • One of the 1,478 Magnetic Tapes Rescued

      Each tape contains one high-resolution and one low-resolution camera exposure written simultaneously into the data.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Keith Cowing of NASA Watch

      Keith Cowing of NASA Watch teamed up with space entrepreneur Dennis Wingo on the project to restore the tapes.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Cannisters - Lots of Cannisters - Containing Space Images

      Dozens of canisters stacked in a defunct McDonald's at NASA Ames research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Ahoy, Matey

      A pirate flag hangs in the window of the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project, officially designating it a "skunkworks" unit.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Storing Tapes for Maximum Protection

      Each tape is wrapped in plastic and stored in a protective canister to shield the magnetic data. They each contain one high-res and one low-res image, and the reel, weighing more than 8 pounds.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Ampex FR-900 Drives

      One of the super-rare Ampex FR-900 tape drives needed to read the magnetic tape data containing the images of the moon.

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • A few decades ago, Titan I ICBMs were stockpiled in case the U.S. needed to fire off thermonuclear warheads. The one in the picture is parked alongside the former McDonald's outlet now housing the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project. (It's also waiting to be restored.)

      Credit: Photo by James Martin/CNET

    • Another Comparison of the Lunar Surface

      Comparison of original data (left) and data retrieved from the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project.

      Credit: LOIRP/NASA