Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project

Efforts are being made to retrieve pictures made by Lunar Orbiter spacecraft in 1966/7.

In the late 1960s, NASA sent five Lunar Orbiter missions to photograph the surface of the moon and gain a better understanding of the lunar environment in advance of the Apollo program.

Data was recorded on large magnetic tapes and transferred to photographic film for scientific analysis. When these images were first retrieved from lunar orbit, only a portion of their true resolution was available because of the limited technology available.

NASA has now released a newly restored 42-year-old image of Earth. The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface in 1966. Using refurbished machinery and modern digital technology, NASA produced the image at a much higher resolution than was possible when it was originally taken.

The data may help the next generation of explorers as NASA prepares to return to the moon.

Full NASA story at
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/nov/HQ_08-291_Lunar_Orbiter_image.html

To view the image and for more information about the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/features/LOIRP

Video of Lunar Orbiter Image Release Press Conference
http://www.moonviews.com/archives/2008/11/
video_of_lunar_orbiter_image_r.html