posted 02-22-2026 08:32 AM               

Space Cover 846: Hasselblad to the Moon

In 1962, the Swedish-made Hasselblad camera was used by NASA during Mercury spaceflights and then most notably during the Apollo program to capture the iconic high resolution images of astronauts during the moon landings.

The Hasselblad 500EL camera with Reseau plates was extensively modified to withstand the extreme temperatures on the lunar surface and in the vacuum of space. The cross markings seen on all mission photographs were added to the cameras to provide reference points on the surface of the moon for measuring size and distance. The camera was mounted on the astronauts chest brackets for ease of use while wearing the bulky spacesuits and gloves.

The film magazines made the journey back to Earth. Most of the cameras used from Apollo 11 through Apollo 17 were left behind on the surface to conserve weight during the return trip home, though several were also carried home.

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong training for the moon landing seen here with the Hasselblad camera mounted on the front of his spacesuit.

The breathtaking image of Earthrise taken with a Hasselblad camera by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders was later memorialized on a United States postage stamp, Scott #1371.

Leading up to the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11 I was working on several illustration projects when the United States Postal Service asked me and my father Paul Calle to jointly design an Express Mail postage stamp commemorating the Anniversary of the First Moon Landing. That stamp design assignment became two separate stamps, the Express Mail stamp (Scott #2478) and a 29 cent commemorative stamp (Scott # 2841). That design process for those stamps I'll save for another Space Cover of the Week.

During this same time as a freelance artist I was working on various non-space-related paintings to be used on Fleetwood First Day Covers. Jim Helzer, owner of Unicover Corporation, the parent company of Fleetwood had for many years a very good working relationship with Sweden Post which was interested in issuing a Swedish stamp to commemorate the Moon Landing and Sweden's role as the maker of the Hasselbald camera used during the Apollo Missions to the Moon. Jim approached me and my dad about designing the stamp and we thought it would be fun. This was to be the first ever Swedish stamp designed by non-Swedes.

Sweden had only one request and it was an obvious one, please include our Hasselbald camera in the design!

We created artwork incorporating two astronauts on the moon using the Hasselblad camera. The renowned Polish born master engraver Czeslaw Slania engraved the stamp. I had actually met Slania a few years earlier at a stamp show he attended with his daughter, and through her as our interpreter he conveyed to me how with the pencil drawing technique of my father and me, we made the work of engravers very easy when translating artwork to engraving plates. He said, "Paul is a genius!", to which I replied that I had always known that! That made him smile.

In addition to the stamp being issued in Sweden a proofcard/limited edtion print was produced of which only three are signed by Paul Calle and Chris Calle as stamp designers, and Czeslaw Slania as engraver.