Exceptional collection of five reels of microfilm containing the photographs of the moon's surface taken by Lunar Orbiters 1-5 in 1966-1967. The leaders note: "Microfilmed by National Space Science Data Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771." Each reel is contained in its original cardboard box, stamped with the address of the National Space Science Data Center and identifying the associated Lunar Orbiter Project mission. In overall very good to fine condition, with some damage and toned tape to the boxes; the microfilm reels are fine.
The Lunar Orbiter program was a highly successful series of five unmanned missions to the moon intended to map its surface and locate suitable landing sites for Apollo. Between August 1966 and November 1967, the five Lunar Orbiters mapped 99% of the lunar surface, returning more than 3,000 medium and high-resolution images to Earth. After the missions, the complete photographic data was compiled on microfilm reels by the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC): while the quality of the film was suitable for studies requiring minimum precision, these were intended primarily for selecting photographs for which high-quality reproductions were available.
