The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 robotic spacecraft mission, part of NASA's Lunar Orbiter program, was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. It was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data.
Lunar Orbiter Engineering Mock-up
Spacecraft orbit and photographic coverage on the near side (left) and far side (right)
The first image of Earth from the distance of the Moon, August 23, 1966. This probe took a second such image on August 25.
Full reprocessed image from 2008.
The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five uncrewed lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs from lunar orbit and photographed both the Moon and Earth.
Lunar Orbiter spacecraft
Lunar Orbiter camera (NASA)
A detail of an original image at the top, compared to a reprocessed version at the bottom created by LOIRP.
Image: NASM A19700318000 NASM2019 06087
