LUNAR TV CAMERA

This is the camera that set the eyes of the world upon the first images of humankind’s walk on the moon during Apollo 11.

At the start of the space program, TV didn’t go along. Typical cameras weighed about 400 pounds and were designed only for studio use. But NASA began to become aware of the tremendous scientific and popular need for moving pictures.

The challenge: Send back live pictures of the first steps on the moon, and do it with the only piece of mission equipment that would have to work in all phases of the trip. In other words, the portable video camera was important, but not essential. There was no need to bring two.

Design needs: The camera should weigh as little as possible, use very little power, be self cooling; and survive in temperatures ranging from 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the lunar day, and minus 300 degrees in the lunar night. In addition, it would need to withstand launch shocks, and possibly meteor showers and particle radiation. It had to be easy for encumbered astronauts to hold.

Oh yes, it also had to take pictures — even when the only light around was earthshine.

The Solution: It took five years, hundreds of people, and over a million dollars to develop the seven-pound SEC vidicon camera. But it was ready on July 20, 1969, a pioneering example of solid state and integrated circuit technology. All Neil Armstrong had to do was point and shoot. The signal was beamed to a receiving dish in Australia, converted to standard commercial broadcast format, and shown to more than 500 million people.