Click the Brandenburg Flag for a German translation Für eine deutsche Übersetzung dieser Seite einfach die Brandenburger Flagge anklicken

Moon A collection of pictures of our Moon, (mostly) taken from space. Part 1

To the left is the first photograph of the moon, taken by John William Draper in March 1840. Ever since then, the Moon has never lost its appeal as an object of photography. Here are our favorite pictures of the Moon. Like our other space galleries, the pictures have not been selected because of their scientific significance but because of their esthetic value and sometimes because of their historical importance. Before were are moving on to pictures taken by space probes, we want to share our favorite Moon pictures taken on earth.

Moon rising behind the Lick Observatory in California Source: Laurie Hatch Gallery

SpaceShip Two descending from a test flight with the Moon in the back Source: reddit space comments

Saguaro Moon, September 26, 2007 Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

To the right is a picture of the Soyuz TMA-14M capsule, returning ISS Expedition 42 back to Earth, with the Moon in the background. Below are two interesting pictures taken of the Moon from Earth orbit. The picture to the left was taken by the Russian geostationary weather satellite Elektro-L No.1 (no date given). The picture to the right was taken by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station on February 18, 2013.

Source: NASA / Bill Ingalls / Planetary Society

Source: Roskosmos / Vitaliy Egorov	Source: NASA / Planetary Society

Telescopes provide pretty close looks at the moon, thus there was no need for a picture of the full moon taken by satellite. However, the far side of the Moon is never visible from Earth. The first very grainy picture of that side was taken by the Soviet probe Luna 3. Luna 3 was put in an Earth orbit that was so highly elliptical that it's apogee of 310,685 miles extended beyond the Moon's orbit.

Replica of Luna 3 in the Cosmonaut Museum in Moscow. Source: Музей космонавтики

First picture of the Far Side Taken by Luna 3 on October 7, 1959 Source: NASA

The first close-up pictures of the Lunar surface came with the US Ranger program. In 1964 and 1965, three probes crashed into the Moon, taking a series of pictures between 5 seconds and 0.2 seconds before impact. Tee first pictures were taken from an altitude of about 3 miles, the last ones from less than 2,000 feet. The resolution of these close-ups was about 1,000 times better than anything that could have been achieved with the telescopes of the time. On July 31, 1964, Ranger 7 delivered the first pictures of the moon taken by a US spacecraft.

Artist's view of Ranger's impact on the moon Source: paleotronic.com

Last picture by Ranger 7, taken about 488 m above the Moon Source: NASA / Wikipedia

Alphonsus Crater during approach Ranger 7, July 31, 1964 Source: Wikipedia

Craters Ritter and Sabine from 302 km Ranger 8, February 20, 1965 Source: NASA

Closeup of Alphonsus Crater Ranger 9, March 24, 1965 Source: Wikipedia

Extensive sequences of pictures taken by Ranger 7, 8 and 9 can be found at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

In a flyby on July 20, 1965, Soviet probe Zond 3 passed the moon in a distance of 5,728 miles and delivered the second set of pictures of the far side of the moon. Between 1968 and 1970, four more unmanned Zond probes were launched on circumlunar trajectories and returned to Earth. Zond 5, launched on September 14, 1968 was not only the first space probe to fly around the moon and return to Earth, but also the first one to carry living beeings (two Russian tortoises) beyond Earth's orbit.

Artist's concept of Zond spacecraft. Source: Ricardo Nunez

Far side, photographed by Zond 3, July 20, 1965 Source: mentallandscape.com

AMosaic of images taken by Zond 6, November 14, 1968 Source: Don P. Mitchell

Mosaic of images taken by Zond 8, October 24, 1970 Source: Don P. Mitchell

Extensive sequences of pictures taken by Soviet Luna and Zond spacecrafts can be found at the Moon Catalog of Don P. Mitchell's Homepage.

In 1966 and 1967, the US sent five probes into Lunar orbit. The first probe, Lunar Orbiter 1 was launched on August 10, 1966. On August 18, 1966, it delivered the first high resolution images from Lunar orbit. The program's main task was to identify landing sites for the Apollo program, but eventually, the probes delivered photographs with a resolution of 60 meters (200 ft) or better of 99 percent of surface of the Moon, leading to the first comprehensive Lunar map.

Model of a Lunar Orbiter spacecraft Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

First picture taken by Lunar Orbiter 1 August 18, 1966; Western edge of Mare Smythii. Source: Lunar and Planetary Institute

Far Side of the Moon, incl. Tsiolkovsky Crater at the bottom. Photographed by by Lunar Orbiter 1. Source: Andrew LePage

Mare Orientalis, photographed by Lunar Orbiter 4 May 1967; Source: Planetary Society

National Geographic's Moon Map of 1967, based on Lunar Orbiter photographs Source: Andrew LePage

Extensive sequences of pictures taken by all five Lunar Orbiters can be found at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

The Lunar Orbiter crafts were not the first probes to orbit the Moon. On March 31, 1966, the Soviet Union launched Luna 10, which entered Lunar orbit on April 3, 1966. However, the probe carried seven instruments to measure radiation, magnetism and micro-meteorites, but no camera. The first Soviet pictures from Lunar orbit were achieved with Luna 12, which entered Lunar orbit on October 25, 1966.

Artist's concept of Luna 10, 11 and 12 Source: HISTORYTV18

Luna 12's picture of the Aristarchus crater area Source: Andrew LePage

The Apollo Moon Program not only delivered the first Moon rocks to Earth, it also provided a huge number of high resolution pictures of hand-selected areas. Our next section covers pictures from Lunar orbit during the Apollo program and pictures taken from orbit by more recent, automatic probes.

Click here to see the Earth from space

Click here for more recent pictures from Lunar orbit

Back to Solar System Page

Back to Space Page

Back to English Main Page

Back to Start Page