Here's what the Apollo astronauts were looking at 50 years ago.
In order to provide panoramic views of the Apollo moon landing sites, NASA stitched together individual images taken by its 12 moonwalkers to paint several gorgeous panoramas.
For the 50th Apollo anniversary, NASA imagery specialist Warren Harold put the pictures together while Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, the only geologist to touch down on the lunar surface, verified the resulting accuracy of the images, NASA officials said in a statement.
Put yourself in the boots of a moonwalker by checking out some of our favorite Apollo panoramas from the landing missions between 1969 and 1972 below. For more cool moon panoramas, check out NASA's complete collection here.
A view of the lunar surface as captured by astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took man's first steps on the moon, at Tranquility Base of a crater he had noted during the descent to the moon. (Image credit: NASA)
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean during the first moonwalk of the mission, taken from inside the rim of Surveyor Crater on the lunar surface. (Image credit: NASA)
Lunar module pilot James B. Irwin, from the Apollo 15 mission, pictured here using a scoop to make a trench in the soil during his second moonwalk. (Image credit: NASA)
The Lunar Rover Vehicle parked on the edge of Hadley Rille (Rima Hadley) with astronaut David R. Scott, the Apollo 15 mission commander, pictured next to it as lunar module pilot Irwin captures him in action. (Image credit: NASA)
A panoramic view of the lunar surface shot during the Apollo 16 mission. (Image credit: NASA)
Images taken from the Apollo 16 Lunar Module's window were stitched together to create this panoramic view. (Image credit: NASA)
Apollo 16 Astronaut John W. Young working at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) before the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). (Image credit: NASA)
Station 10 and Sample 381 Rock from the Apollo 16 mission, captured during the second moonwalk. (Image credit: NASA)
Images from the Apollo 17 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site taken by commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. (Image credit: NASA)
A panoramic view of the Dune Crater from the Apollo 15 mission. (Image credit: NASA)
Another view of the Dune Crater, located in the Hadley-Apennine region of the moon. (Image credit: NASA)
Astronauts from a later Apollo mission used a lunar rover to go around the moon's surface. (Image credit: NASA)
A backdrop of the sun behind the panoramic view of the lunar surface. (Image credit: NASA)
The Apollo Lunar Module weighed approximately 9,430 pounds (4,280 kilograms) (Image credit: NASA)
Sunlight beams down onto the lunar surface by a lunar lander and the shadow of an Apollo moonwalker. (Image credit: NASA)
A view of an American flag planted into the lunar soil. (Image credit: NASA)
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Passant Rabie is an award-winning journalist from Cairo, Egypt. Rabie moved to New York to pursue a master's degree in science journalism at New York University. She developed a strong passion for all things space, and guiding readers through the mysteries of the local universe. Rabie covers ongoing missions to distant planets and beyond, and breaks down recent discoveries in the world of astrophysics and the latest in ongoing space news. Prior to moving to New York, she spent years writing for independent media outlets across the Middle East and aims to produce accurate coverage of science stories within a regional context.
