McMoon: Those grainy Moon photos from the 60s? The actual high-res images looked so much better. - News - Jason Jacques Gallery

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In 1966 and 1967, NASA sent five spacecraft to orbit the Moon to take high-resolution photos to aid in finding a good landing spot for the Apollo missions. NASA released some photos to the public and they were extremely grainy and low resolution because they didn’t want the Soviet Union to know the capabilities of US spy satellites. Here’s a comparison to what the public saw at the time versus how the photos actually looked:

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Spacecraft Frame No. 070

Spacecraft Frame No. 070

NASA 24h x 20w in NA000055 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 78

Spacecraft Frame No. 78

NASA 24h x 20w in NA000054 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 123

Spacecraft Frame No. 123

NASA 24h x 20w in NA000053 1967

Unmanned Missions & Liftoffs: Lunar Orbiter V/Atlas-Aaena

Unmanned Missions & Liftoffs: Lunar Orbiter V/Atlas-Aaena

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000045 1967

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000033 1968

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000035 1967

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000036 1967

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000037 1967

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000038 1967

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000039 1966

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000042 1966

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000046 1966

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000047 1966

NASA 8h x 10w in NA000050 1965-67

Spacecraft Frame No. 189

Spacecraft Frame No. 189

NASA 24" H x 20" W NA000058 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 012

Spacecraft Frame No. 012

NASA 24" H x 20" W NA000059 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 016

Spacecraft Frame No. 016

NASA 24" H x 20" W NA000060 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 062

Spacecraft Frame No. 062

NASA 24" H x 20" W NA00061 1967

Spacecraft Frame No. 077

Spacecraft Frame No. 077

NASA 24" H x 20" W NA000062 1967

Lunar Craterscape

Lunar Craterscape

NASA 64" H x 17.5" W NA000065 1966-67

NASA 65.5" H x 19.87" W NA000066 1966-67

Oceanus Procellarum and Cavalerius Hills on the Moon

Oceanus Procellarum and Cavalerius Hills on the Moon

NASA 21.93h x 17.52w in NA000030 1967

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