This series consists of kinescopes of the downlink television transmissions with air-to-ground (A/G) audio from eight Apollo missions (10-17), which launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Television cameras were used by the various crews of the Apollo missions in the Command and Service Modules (CSM), on the Lunar Modules (LM), and during lunar surface operations. These television cameras recorded and broadcasted crew movements, work, interactions, and demonstrations as well as the Apollo mission equipment and views of the Earth, the moon, and the lunar surface.Twelve live color television transmissions were sent to Earth during the Apollo 10 mission. Crewmembers Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan use and interact with the television cameras. They provide views within the spacecraft and out the windows to capture the lunar surface and the Earth.
For the Apollo 11 mission, eight live color television transmissions are recorded in the CSM and the LM. None of the kinescope footage included in this series depicts the landing on the moon or activities on the lunar surface. The footage shows activities in the CSM, equipment checkout, lunar views, and final reflections of the crewmembers Michael Collins, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong.
During the Apollo 12 launch, the vehicle was struck by lightning. While no picture was captured, crewmembers Charles "Pete" Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, Jr., and Alan L. Bean discuss the event during A/G audio transmissions in the CSM. Shots of the astronauts’ descent to the lunar surface from the exterior of the LM are recorded. After being removed from the LM mount, the camera was damaged when pointed directly at the Sun and was inoperative as shown in the reels. Thirteen transmissions were broadcast, including an in-flight press conference.
Five reels of film were captured during the Apollo 13 mission. These include shots of crewmembers James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert, equipment, and work from April 11-14. The final TV broadcast ended minutes before the oxygen tank exploded, effectively cutting short their mission and instigating a return to Earth.
On Apollo 14, thirty-eight reels of footage were captured by color television cameras operated by Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard, and Edgar Mitchell. The first shots on the CSM record the multiple unsuccessful attempts at docking with the lunar module in space. After docking was achieved, the crew inspected the docking mechanism on camera. Extravehicular activity (EVA), that is lunar surface exploration, is recorded with astronauts undertaking two trips onto the surface. Returning to the CSM, the crew provided demonstrations of equipment and ended their transmissions with an in-flight press conference.
The thirty-four reels recorded during the Apollo 15 mission show activity on the CM, but focus primarily on the EVAs on the lunar surface. A camera mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) records the work of David Scott and James Irwin on the lunar surface, the camera was discarded along with the LRV at the site. It captured the Lunar Module’s liftoff during its departure from the surface of the moon. On the CSM, Alfred Worden undertook the first deep space EVA to retrieve exposed film from the scientific instrument module (SIM) bay, as shown in the reels.
The majority of the forty-five recorded reels from the Apollo 16 mission are from a camera mounted on the LRV. These shots depict the scientific experiments undertaken on the surface of the moon by John Young and Charles Duke. They include the crew utilizing an ultraviolet stellar camera, conducting a heat flow experiment, measuring with a lunar portable magnetometer, and gathering samples. The camera on the LRV was discarded on the moon and it filmed the LM liftoff as well as lunar surface sun angle views for days after. On the CSM, Ken Mattingly undertook a spacewalk to retrieve film cassettes from the SIM bay.
The final Apollo program mission, Apollo 17, captured forty-three reels of film. On the lunar surface, three EVAs were undertaken by Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. As the last humans departed from the moon, the camera mounted on the LRV filmed the ascent. The discarded equipment captured lunar surface and sun angle views after the departure. Scientific demonstrations and the trans-Earth EVA undertaken by Ronald Evans were recorded on the CSM.