The Lunar Cameras and the Recorders on Earth
The following is a snapshot of the immensely important and historic pages put together by John Sarkissian for the CSIRO. For the full page and the full story of Apollo 11, visit:
http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/apollo11/tv_from_moon.html
The Apollo lunar television camera:
The lunar television camera was a black-and-white, slow-scan TV (SSTV) with a scan rate of 10 frames-per-second at 320 lines-per-frame. It weighed 3.29 kg (7.25 lb) and drew 6.5 watts of 24-32 volts of DC power. The camera body was 26.9 cm long, 16.5 cm wide and 8.6 cm deep (10.6 x 6.5 x 3.4 inches). The bayonet lens mount permitted lens changes by a crewman in a pressurised suit
. Two lenses were provided: a wide-angle lens for close-ups and large areas, and a lunar day lens for viewing lunar surface features and activities in the near field of view with sunlight illumination.
 Photo NASA: Neil Armstrong working at the MESA. This is the only high resolution photo of Neil on the Moon. |
The camera was stowed in an instrument pallet known as the MESA (Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly) in the LM descent stage. The MESA was to the left of the ladder as viewed from the front of the LM. When Armstrong was at the top of the ladder, he pulled a lanyard to swing open the MESA, which was hinged at the bottom. The TV camera, which was attached to it, would also swing down. It was mounted upside-down so as to secure it firmly to the MESA with vibration isolators and to also simplify its removal by the astronaut. Aldrin then switched on the camera by pushing in the TV circuit breaker in the cabin of the LM. The camera was pointing at the ladder of the LM, so that TV pictures of Armstrong’s initial steps on the Moon could be relayed to the world. Later, after Aldrin had descended to the surface, Armstrong mounted the TV camera on a tripod, and placed it some 10 metres from the LM. The camera was left unattended to cover the crew’s activities during the remainder of the moonwalk.
The camera was also capable of operating in a high resolution mode which was 5/8 frames per second with 1280 lines per frame (non-interlaced). This mode was designed to telecast a high resolution image in case the astronauts were not able to return to Earth with photographs. The camera had a switch located on the top surface that would allow the astronauts to operate it in either mode. Back on Earth, 10-inch monitors with yellow-green high persistence phosphor screens were equipped with Polaroid cameras for shooting directly off the screens. However, because of time constraints this high resolution mode was never used in flight.
The Apollo lunar television camera was built by Westinghouse Electric Corp., Aerospace Division, Baltimore, Md., USA.
[...] How We Got Apollo 11 Video Back From The Moon | Echoes Of ApolloThe camera was pointing at the ladder of the LM, so that TV pictures of Armstrong's initial steps on the Moon could be relayed to the world. Later, after Aldrin had descended to the surface, Armstrong mounted the TV camera on a tripod, … Back on Earth, 10-inch monitors with yellow-green high persistence phosphor screens were equipped with Polaroid cameras for shooting directly off the screens. However, because of time constraints this high resolution mode was never used ……[Read More] [...]