Colonel Jim Irwin saluting the US flag on the Moon {image via NASA}

The Ultimate Photographic Record of Humankind’s Greatest Adventure

NASA describes Apollo Remastered as “the ultimate photographic record of humankind’s greatest adventure.” In honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 15 and its lunar mission, historian Andy Saunders has prepared a book full of beautifully remastered photographs of the Moon and the people who went there.

Saunders went through 35,000 NASA images. He “spent the last few years remastering photos from the Apollo missions as a personal project, culminating in a book titled Apollo Remastered set to be released in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the lunar mission.” Apollo Remastered will be a perfect holiday gift for your favorite space fan or freak. It will be available on Amazon.com on September 6, 2021.

Brigadier General Charlie Duke, USAF, ret. said “Andy’s remastered images are so clear and real that they’re the next best thing to being there….The images are an exact representation of what I remember from my journey to the Moon on Apollo 16.”

How and Why Were the Photos Remastered

Andy Saunders produced the panoramic shots for Apollo 15 by ‘remastering’ each shot from the film and then aligning and stitching these together in digital processing software.” With over 30,000 images to go through, many of them faded and degraded, this book is a major labor of love. Saunders is to be applauded for his efforts.

Saunders pointed out “the original NASA photographic film from the Apollo missions is some of the most important and valuable film in existence. [emphasis added] It is securely stored in a freezer to maintain its condition… the film rarely leaves the freezer. The vast majority of Apollo images seen by the public over the last half-century have been copies of master-duplicates, or copies of copies, leading to the gradual degradation in the quality of the images we see.” Saunders added much of the original film is “significantly underexposed.”

Before and after pictures of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) {image via NASA, 2nd photo remastered by Andy Saunders}

NASA’s acting chief historian Dr. Brian Odom told CBS News that “Apollo 15 was a critical mission for the lunar program as it transitioned from a transportation paradigm to hardcore science.”  The astronauts of Apollo 15 spent 295 hours on the Moon, from July 30 to August 2, 1971. Dr Odom explained : “Seeing historians like Andy [Saunders] dig into that mission and produce such cutting-edge results is incredible. [It] speaks to the program’s overall importance. Not only has Andy done a remarkable job bringing more details of this mission to light, but his incredible work has also created a lot of public excitement as NASA goes back to the Moon with the Artemis program.”

Colonel Dave Scott driving the LVR {image via NASA}

Apollo Remastered will be published by Penguin Random House. For e-mail updates on when the book will be ready, click here to sign up to be notified when it’s ready for order.

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Susan Macdonald
Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress ”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.