NASA's Apollo Archive: 10 More Breathtaking Images

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By now you've undoubtedly seen the photos collected by Kipp Teague as part of a companion website to his "Contact Light" personal retrospective on Project Apollo.

Teague's efforts have given space enthusiasts access to more than 8,400 new photos of NASA's Apollo missions -- InformationWeek showed you our 10 personal favorites earlier this month -- but with so many photos to choose from, how could we resist in bringing you a second glance at mankind’s most extraordinary achievement?

The mission to the moon, launched by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, was an audacious proposal, one with which the general public lost interest in following the historic landing of Apollo 11.

After decades, the endeavor still captivates the imagination, thanks in a large part to the brave individuals who made the 240,000-mile journey.

[Check our previous look at NASA's Apollo missions through the years.]

In the process, they gathered a dazzling array of photographic memories that put your vacation photos to shame.

These professional space travelers and amateur photographers managed to capture a world -- and an expedition -- that almost boggles the mind.

The images do more justice to the mission than any number of factoids or statistics could ever hope to achieve. The photos essential imperfections in contrast, focus and framing illustrate the indelible human nature of space exploration.

One may wonder how the Moon and the Earth would look as photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Robert Frank, or even Robert Mapplethorpe, but as your humble curator, might we suggest that the images presented here project a grandeur and frailty that comes from a place so far, and so close, to home.

(All images courtesy of NASA)

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