For the last year, Lowry Digital has been restoring the footage of the original Apollo 11 lunar landing. Sadly, the original footage has been lost to time and Lowry has had to work from the multitude of reproductions and copies from around the globe.
The original images beamed back to Earth–via slow scan television (SSTV)–were captured at 10 frames per second, with 320 lines of resolution for the live telecast. NASA also tracked down a number of copies around the world that were recorded in a variety of formats. One source was an 8mm wind-up film camera that was handheld and aimed at a video monitor at mission control. Amazingly, this 8mm film copy includes the only extant copy of some portions of the telecast.
The project is ongoing, expected to finish in September. Brief clips have been released by NASA to commemorate the 40th anniversary, and can be viewed on their site.
via Studio Daily Blog » Lowry Digital Restoring Apollo 11 Footage.
