Mapping the Moon

RG 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Lunar Maps, 1961–1962 (NAID 1077479) On April 3, 2023, NASA announced that humans are soaring back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, since the return of Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts, Americans, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, … Continue reading Mapping the Moon

Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science with NASA Trailblazers

February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day set aside to recognize the role women and girls play in science and technology and promote full and equal access to participation in science. What better way to recognize the day than by highlighting a few NASA trailblazers? Still taken from 255-HQ-296 … Continue reading Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science with NASA Trailblazers

Astronaut standing on the ladder of the Apollo 11 lunar module.

50 Years After the Moonwalk: Looking Back at Apollo 11’s Broadcast from the Moon

View from the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). (Still image from 255-FR-7729) Fifty years ago, the Apollo 11 spacecraft left the launchpad and began its mission to the Moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Previous posts on the Unwritten Record covered the intense training undertaken by the prime crew, including 1/6th … Continue reading 50 Years After the Moonwalk: Looking Back at Apollo 11’s Broadcast from the Moon

Gearing Up for Launch: More Scenes from the Apollo 11 Training Program

MSC - Astronaut Collins in Chamber B, Jun 27, 1966. (255-FR-5588) Previously this blog covered a few aspects of training performed by the Apollo 11 prime crew in preparation for the mission to the Moon. This time we’ll dive deeper (literally, as you’ll see below) into Apollo 11 astronaut training. We last featured the use … Continue reading Gearing Up for Launch: More Scenes from the Apollo 11 Training Program

Close up of a can of Pillsbury space food. Label reads "Apollo Approved."

Beyond Astronaut Ice Cream: How Consumer America Engineered Food for Space Exploration

Still image from 255-FR-6125. What do corporations like Pillsbury and Whirlpool have to do with Apollo 11? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In fact, many consumer corporations contributed to the success of the moon landing. For example, engineers at Playtex designed the Apollo spacesuits and Westinghouse provided the cameras that transmitted video signals … Continue reading Beyond Astronaut Ice Cream: How Consumer America Engineered Food for Space Exploration

A Medal for Miss Baker, the Original Space Monkey

As I am writing this, there are six people in space, all aboard the International Space Station. While these missions are now routine, in the 1950s scientists weren’t certain that the human body could survive in a weightless environment. Years before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent Alan Shepard into space, American rockets carried … Continue reading A Medal for Miss Baker, the Original Space Monkey

The Challenger’s Teacher in Space Project: Photos and Video

by Judy Luis-Watson, Manager of Volunteer and Education Programs at the National Archives at College Park, MD The inclusion of a teacher, who would become the first private citizen in space, made the Space Shuttle Challenger mission especially exciting. This was the U.S. Government’s twenty-fifth space shuttle mission, twenty-four of which had been completed successfully. … Continue reading The Challenger’s Teacher in Space Project: Photos and Video

Pushing the Limits: The NASA Space Shuttle (Photos)

For more than half a century, the people at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have captured the hearts and minds of the American people.  From man’s initial voyages through Earth’s atmosphere, to the recent exploration of Pluto, NASA has continued push the limits of scientific exploration. While NASA’s accomplishments are too numerous for … Continue reading Pushing the Limits: The NASA Space Shuttle (Photos)

Images of the Week: NASA Digital Images

This week I'm highlighting new digital images transferred from NASA that will soon be available in our research room and eventually uploaded into OPA. The four series, 255-AMP, ASTP, STS, and GRC, cover digital surrogates created from the original still film from the Apollo missions, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and the Shuttle missions. In addition, … Continue reading Images of the Week: NASA Digital Images

Images of the Week: Space Exploration

This week I'm highlighting a new series of photographs received from NASA's National Space Science Data Center. The series, "Photographs Relating to Space Exploration, 1961-1998" (National Archives Identifier 7541247), features images taken by space probes, space observatories, earth observation satellites and manned space flight missions. The series description will soon be available through OPA. Local … Continue reading Images of the Week: Space Exploration