CSIRO Donates Rare NASA Moon Landing Broadcast to NFSA

Relayed from Australia to the World

The donated footage is one of just three copies in the world and the only copy to be held outside of the United States.

NASA gave the official copy of the footage to CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), in recognition of Australia’s crucial role supporting the Apollo 11 mission.

A camera on the lunar module provided live television coverage of humanity's first steps on the Moon. This coverage was relayed to an estimated 600 million television viewers by Australians, first from the NASA Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra and then from CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope in NSW.

Minister Fletcher, who accepted the footage from Minister Andrews on behalf of the NFSA, said 'The moon landing inspired millions of people and the Apollo 11 mission also had significant practical effects. It really marked the beginning of the digital age, driving dramatic advances in computing and communications.'

Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin remained on the surface of the Moon for approximately two-and-a-half hours, during which time they collected about 47 pounds of samples, and deployed four experiments. You can watch the three-hour Restored Apollo 11 Moonwalk (Original NASA EVA Mission Video on the NASA YouTube channel.

NASA has previously had a company that specialises in restoring Hollywood films enhance the footage. The donated footage will now be preserved in the NFSA collection.