Illustrations: Apollo-Era Scientists Thought We'd Live On The Moon
Published 24 Jul 2018, 10:36 BST
As an Apollo spacecraft slams into Earth's atmosphere, the three astronauts in this cutaway painting, kept safe by the capsule's heat shield, look through viewing ports and see glowing ablation vapors in the wake of their ship.
Photograph by Davis Meltzer, National Geographic CreativeIn this illustration, the Apollo 11 lunar module approaches the moon's surface, leaving its command module in orbit.
Photograph by Davis Meltzer, National Geographic CreativeThis painting shows the moment when the Apollo 11 lunar module nearly landed in a boulder-filled crater. Neil Armstrong made a last-second manoeuvre to avoid the obstacle and land the spacecraft safely.
Photograph by Illustration By PIERRE MION, National Geographic CreativeA painting shows an astronaut who has left a landing craft and is now taking his first steps on the lunar surface.
Photograph by Illustration By PIERRE MION, National Geographic CreativeThis painting shows astronaut Al Worden of the Apollo 15 mission performing a spacewalk to recover film cassettes.
Photograph by Pierre Mion, National Geographic CreativeBased on expert input about lunar conditions, this illustration shows Apollo-era expectations for a future moon colony.
Photograph by Illustration By PIERRE MION, National Geographic CreativeAn illustration shows a moon-bound rocket launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Photograph by Davis Meltzer, National Geographic CreativeIllustrations show NASA’s expectations for the Apollo 11 moon landing, including crew squeezing feet-first into the lunar module, and the module entering a low orbit to find a landing site.
Photograph by Pierre Mion, National Geographic CreativeIllustrations show NASA’s expectations for the Apollo 11 moon landing, including crew squeezing feet-first into the lunar module, and the module entering a low orbit to find a landing site.
Photograph by Pierre Mion, National Geographic Creative