Have you ever wondered what kind of camera has taken the first photos on the moon?
Keep reading the article to find out more!
50 years ago, during the first landing on the moon, we didn’t just leave an American flag.
The Hasselbland 500, which snapped one of the most iconic photos in history, still stands on the dusty lunar surface, along with the fingerprints of the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
The Hasselblad 500C was a technologically advanced camera at the time, with a leaf shutter and automatic aperture stop down.
Seven years before the first Hasselblad arrived on the lunar surface, NASA and the Swedish camera company worked together to modify the camera so that it could withstand the extreme conditions of space.
It was a reflex with viewfinder, auxiliary shutter and a leather cover to minimize the impact of its weight on the mission.
The modified 500C was equipped with a roll with 70 exposures, instead of the traditional 12 present in a standard roller.
They used the camera for the first time aboard the Mercury 8 in 1962.
After its success, the Apollo 11 came equipped with two medium-format cameras, the Hasselblad 500EL Data Camera (HDC) and a Hasselblad Electric Camera (HEC).
The first, which was the camera that took pictures on the surface of the moon, was equipped with a Zeiss Biogon 60mm F5.6 lens and a specially designed roller, which allowed 200 exposures on 70mm Kodak film.
The second HEL camera used an 80mm F2.8 to take pictures from inside the Eagle lunar module.
As for the 500C, the Swedish company also adapted the HDC camera to withstand the extreme conditions of space.
In fact they used a silver paint to allow the use also with temperature ranges between -85 degrees and 248 degrees Fahrenheit.
They also added a special plate to intentionally leave “+” signs in the images, which they would later use to make measurements and collect more data.
Armstrong carried the camera onto the surface of the moon.
NASA introduced basic notions of photography as well as specific instructions on using the Hasselblad camera, providing Armstrong with the skills necessary to operate the camera in space.
The then 38 year old snapped the iconic image of the Earth seen rising beyond the horizon of the moon, as well as the one with the flag and a lunar “selfie” in which Armstrong can be seen reflected in Aldrin’s helmet.
After an eight-day journey, the spacecraft, which weighed more than 100,000 pounds at launch, would return with a landing mass of less than 11,000 pounds. To reduce the weight for the return journey, the crew left the cameras, lenses and accessories on the moon.
Five Apollo missions later, a total of 12 Hasselblad cameras reside on the lunar surface.
Finally I leave a gallery below with the most beautiful shots taken on the moon.
I hope this article was as interesting as it was for me to write it!
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