Library

Regional Planetary Image Facility

What's New

Planetary Image Collection

Mercury Moon Saturn

Venus Mars Uranus

Earth Jupiter Neptune

MERCURY

• Mariner 10

  Details: Three flybys: 3/29/74 (460 miles); 9/21/74 (30,000 miles) and 3/16/75 (200 miles). Acquired 1838 frames (three versions each) for a total of 5514 images covering 45% of the surface.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 print and negative film. Mission reports and microfiche.

VENUS

• Mariner 10

  Details: Flyby encounter on 2/5/74; closest approach 3600 miles. Acquired 2605 frames (three versions each) for a total of 7816 images.
  
  Holdings: 2 × 2 prints and negative film. Mission reports and microfiche.

• Pioneer Venus Mission

  Details: Venus orbiter and surface radar mapper; arrived 12/4/78 and operated until August 1992.
  
  Holdings: 2 × 2 prints and mission reports.

• Magellan Mission

  Details: Venus orbiter and radar mapper; arrived 8/10/90. Mapped surface and collected gravity data. Contact with the spacecraft lost 10/12/94.

• Galileo Mission

  Details: Venus flyby (10,000 miles) on 2/10/90.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 press release prints, 5 × 5 negatives, and CD-ROMs.

EARTH

• Gemini Missions

  Details: More than 1400 images of the Earth taken by astronauts from orbit on Gemini 3 through Gemini 12 (1965-1966).
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 photographs and positive transparencies, mission reports.

• Apollo Missions

Details: The Apollo program included a variety of missions from which imagery was obtained. The photography was acquired with both hand-held and spacecraft-mounted cameras.

Holdings: Imagery varies with the mission and cameras flown. Holdings generally include 8 × 10 prints, 70-mm positive transparencies, and mission reports.

The Individual Apollo Missions

• Skylab Missions

Skylab 2

Details: Images taken while in Earth orbit from 5/25/73 to 6/22/73.

Holdings: 8 × 10 prints and 70-mm 5 × 5 positive transparencies. Mission reports.

Skylab 3

Details: Images taken while in Earth orbit from 7/28/73 to 9/25/73.

Holdings: 8 × 10 prints and 70-mm 5 × 5 positive transparencies. Mission reports.

Skylab 4

Details: Images taken while in Earth orbit from 11/16/73 to 2/8/74.

Holdings: 8 × 10 prints and 70-mm 5 × 5 positive transparencies. Mission reports.

• Apollo-Soyuz Mission

  Details: More than 1400 frames taken by astronauts from space from 7/15/75 to 7/24/75.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 prints, 70-mm positive transparencies, and mission reports.

• Shuttle Missions

Details: Images from Earth orbit by the astronauts.

Holdings: 70-mm 4 × 5 positive transparencies and videodisks. Mission catalogs. Missions STS1 through STS68 (1980-1995).

• Galileo Missions

Details: Two gravity assist flybys of the Earth and Moon; one on 12/8/90 and one on 12/7/92.

Holdings: 8 × 10 press release prints, 5 × 5 negatives, and CD-ROMs.

MOON

• Ranger Missions

  Ranger 7

  Details: TV reconnaissance of Moon; hard landing 7/31/64. Returned more than 4000 high-resolution images before impacting on target at Mare Nubium.
  
  Holdings: Mission reports containing 8 × 8 prints.

  Ranger 8

  Details: TV reconnaissance of Moon; Hard landing 2/20/65. Returned more than 7000 high-resolution images before impacting on target at Mare Tranquillitatis.
  
  Holdings: Mission reports containing 8 × 8 prints.

  Ranger 9

  Details: TV reconnaissance of Moon; hard landing 3/24/65. Returned more than 5000 high-resolution images before impacting inside Crater Alphonsus.
  
  Holdings: Mission reports containing 8 × 8 prints.

• Surveyor Missions

Surveyor 1

Details: Soft landing 6/2/66; touchdown north of Flamsteed. Returned 11,237 images from lunar surface.

Holdings: 70-mm prints and negatives. Mission reports.

Surveyor 3

Details: Soft landing 4/20/76; touchdown in Oceanus Procellarum. Returned 6315 images of surface, dug lunar soil with shovel.

Holdings: 70-mm prints and negatives. Mission reports.

Surveyor 5

Details: Soft landing 9/11/67; target Mare Tranquillitatis. Returned 18,006 images. Performed first chemical analysis of lunar soil.

Holdings: 70-mm prints and negatives. Mission reports.

Surveyor 6

Details: Soft landing 11/10/67; target Sinus Medii. Returned 30,065 images. Performed chemical and mechanical studies of lunar soil.

Holdings: 70-mm prints and negatives. Mission reports.

Surveyor 7

Moon Details: Soft landing 1/10/68; target rim of crater Tycho. Returned 21,274 images. Performed chemical analysis of lunar soil from trench.

Holdings: 70-mm prints and negatives and 8 × 10 mosaic prints. Mission reports.

• Lunar Orbiter Missions

  Lunar Orbiter 1

  Details: Acquired approximately 229 frames of lunar surface (mainly prospective Apollo landing sites) from 8/18/66 to 8/29/66.
  
  Holdings: 20 × 24 prints and negatives, including high- and medium-resolution images, mission reports, and microfiche.

  Lunar Orbiter 2

  Details: Acquired approximately 817 frames of the lunar surface from 11/18/66 to 11/25/66. Main targets were prospective Apollo landing sites and some lunar farside.
  
  Holdings: 20 × 24 prints and negatives, including high- and medium- resolution images. Mission reports and microfiche.

  Lunar Orbiter 3

  Details: Acquired approximately 625 frames of the lunar surface from 2/15/67 to 2/23/67. Main targets were prospective Apollo landing sites.
  
  Holdings: 20 × 24 prints and negatives, including high- and medium- resolution images. Mission reports and microfiche.

  Lunar Orbiter 4

  Details: Acquired approximately 546 frames of the lunar surface from 5/11/67 to 5/26/67. Photographic mapping of large areas of the Moon.
  
  Holdings: 20 × 24 prints and negatives, including high- and medium- resolution images. Mission reports and microfiche.

  Lunar Orbiter 5

  Details: Photographic mapping of the Moon, including much of the farside. Acquired approximately 844 frames of the lunar surface from 8/6/67 to 8/18/67.
  
  Holdings: 20 × 24 prints and negatives, including high- and medium- resolution images. Mission reports and microfiche.

• Apollo Missions

  Details: The Apollo program included a variety of missions from which imagery was obtained. The photography was acquired with both hand-held and spacecraft-mounted cameras.
  
  Holdings: Imagery varies with the mission and cameras flown. Holdings generally include 8 × 10 prints, 70-mm positive transparencies, and mission reports.

  The Individual Apollo Missions

• Galileo Missions

  Details: Two gravity assist flybys of the Earth and Moon; one on 12/8/90 and one on 12/7/92.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 press release prints, 5 × 5 negatives, and CD-ROMs.

• Clementine Mission

  Details: Performed global multispectral imaging of the Moon.
  
  Holdings: Slide set, 35-mm transparencies, and CD-ROMs.

MARS

• Mariner Missions

  Mariner 4

  Details: Flyby mission of Mars 7/14/65 at 6100 miles. Acquired first 22 frames of Mars.
  
  Holdings: 35-mm prints and negatives.

  Mariner 6

  Details: Mars flyby (2100 miles) on 7/31/69. Returned data and 75 images.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 prints and mission reports.

  Mariner 7

  Details: Mars flyby (2200 miles) on 8/5/69. Returned data and 126 images.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 prints and mission reports.

  Mariner 9

  Details: First successful Mars orbit on 11/13/71. Photographed 90% of the surface. Acquired 7329 frames of surface and moons. Spacecraft turned off 10/27/72.
  
  Holdings: 8 × 10 prints, 8 × 10 press release prints, 70-mm negatives, slides, and CD-ROMs. Mission reports, microfiche, and cartographic material.

• Viking Missions

  Viking 1 (Orbiter and Lander)

  Details: Mars orbiter/lander; arrived 6/19/76, landed 7/20/76. Orbiter transmitted 30,000 frames of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos. Lander acquired 1414 frames of the surface.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives for the orbiter; 5 × 5 and 5 × 10 prints and negatives and 8 × 8 FOVLIPs for the lander; and 8 × 10 press release prints and CD-ROMs for both orbiter and lander. Microfiche and mission reports.

  Viking 2 (Orbiter and Lander)

  Details: Mars orbiter/lander; arrived 8/7/76, landed 9/3/76. Orbiter transmitted 16,000 frames of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos. Lander acquired more than 3250 frames of the surface.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives for the orbiter; 5 × 5 and 5 × 10 prints and negatives for the lander; and 8 × 10 press release prints and CD-ROMs for both the orbiter and lander. Microfiche and mission reports.

• Mars Pathfinder Mission

  Details: Mars lander and rover; landed 7/4/97 and operated until 9/27/97. A total of 16,661 images were taken by the lander camera; 550 by the rover camera.
  
  Holdings: Press release prints for lander and rover, and CD-ROMs of the lander images.

• Mars Global Surveyor Mission

  Details: Mars orbiter; arrived 9/11/97 and is scheduled to continue through the spring of 2001.
  
  Holdings: Press release images and CD-ROMs.

JUPITER

• Voyager 1

  Details: Jupiter flyby (174,000 miles) on 3/5/79 and Galilean Satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto). Returned data and images.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negative and positive film, 10 × 10 prints, 8 × 10 press release prints, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

• Voyager 2

  Details: Jupiter flyby (400,000 miles) on 7/9/79 and Galilean Satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto). Returned data and images.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negative and positive film, 10 × 10 prints, 8 × 10 press release prints, slides, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

• Galileo Missions

Details: Jupiter orbiter/probe. Observed comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts while en route. Arrived on 12/7/95 (mission is ongoing).

Holdings: 8 × 10 press release prints and CD-ROMs. Mission reports.

SATURN

• Voyager 1

  Details: Flyby of Saturn (77,000 miles) on 11/12/80. Transmitted data about rings, moons, and magnetosphere.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives, 10 × 10 prints, 8 × 10 press release prints, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

• Voyager 2

Details: Flyby of Saturn (63,000 miles) on 8/25/81. Returned images and data.

Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives, 10 × 10 prints, 8 × 10 press release prints, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

URANUS

• Voyager 2

  Details: Uranus flyby (44,000 miles) on 1/24/86 confirming the existence of rings. Returned images and data.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives, 8 × 10 press release prints, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

NEPTUNE

• Voyager 2

  Details: Neptune flyby (15,500 miles) on 8/25/89. Returned images and data.
  
  Holdings: 5 × 5 prints and negatives, 8 × 10 press release prints, and CD-ROMs. Microfiche and mission reports.

 

Last updated November 23, 2010