Apollo 11
The surface of the MoonProject Apollo Archive

One of the greatest moments of human space exploration was the Apollo 11 Moon landings which happened exactly 49 years ago- 20 July 1969. The landing marked a whole new era of progress in terms of science and technology, the thirst for adventure and ever present human drive for peering into the unknown and stepping through the door with a sense of wonder and awe.

Some of the most iconic shots of space and the Earth come from the Apollo missions which captured, for the first time ever, a point of view that had never been seen before. Along with the iconic images shot by the astronauts, was also a set of pictures that were never made public. Badly shot, out of focus, and blurry, 1960s technology that was used to capture the events was not particularly the best.

Here are a few such images that NASA has released for the first time ever. The Apollo B-roll.

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  • Apollo 11
    Impact crater on the MoonProject Apollo Archive
  • Apollo 11
    Neil Armstrong descending off the landerProject Apollo Archive
  • Apollo 11
    Neil Armstrong climbing down from the landerProject Apollo Archive
  • Apollo 11
    Out of focus American FlagProject Apollo Archive
  • Apollo 11
    The Earth as seen from the MoonProject Apollo Archive

 I'm not a photographer, but an astronaut, said Buzz Aldrin, once- this is probably why. In spite of these images being part of the "B-roll" they are nothing short of spectacular.