Lunar Orbiter 1

NASA launched Lunar Orbiter 1 in 1966 primarily to photograph and map potential smooth landing sites on the Moon for the upcoming Apollo missions. It was the first American spacecraft to successfully achieve a stable lunar orbit. The photographs it transmitted back to Earth were crucial for planning the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

Yes, Lunar Orbiter 1 captured the very first photograph of the Earth taken from the vicinity of the Moon in August 1966. The image showed our planet rising over the stark lunar horizon. This was an unexpected but profoundly iconic secondary achievement of the mission.

After successfully completing its photographic mission, the spacecraft was intentionally commanded to crash into the Moon's surface. It was deliberately de-orbited near the equator to prevent it from becoming a collision hazard for future Apollo missions. This debris remains on the lunar surface today.

The spacecraft developed its 70mm film onboard using a specialized bimat process, then scanned the developed film with a photomultiplier. The resulting analog video signals were transmitted to receiving stations on Earth. NASA scientists then reconstructed these signals into the historic photographs used for Apollo planning.