Apollo 11 space vehicle taking off from kennedy space center. apollo 11 stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, walking on the Moon July 20 1969. Taken during the first Lunar landing of the Apollo 11 space mission by NASA. And now photos documenting the missions are available online Thousands of photos of astronauts walking on the surface of the Moon and of Earth as seen from the surface of the satellite were taken. In the fall of 2011, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission released its original Tour of the Moon, a five-minute animation that takes the viewer on a virtual tour of our nearest neighbor in space. Six years later, the tour has been recreated in eye-popping 4K resolution.

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The only photograph of Neil Armstrong on the Moon, the first Earthrise and panoramas shot by each of the 12 astronauts who walked on the surface of the orbiting satellite are among a trove of thousands of original photographs documenting 'the golden age of space exploration' up for auction by Christie's.

'The collective is the most comprehensive private collection of NASA photographs ever presented at auction, and spans every visual milestone of the space program, from the early days of Mercury, the technical advances of Gemini and Lunar Orbiter, to the triumphs of Apollo,' Christie's said in a release.

Titled Voyage to Another World, the collection of some 2,400 photographs in 700 lots with estimated values ranging from $1,060 to $40,000 were curated over 15 years by Victor Martin-Malburet, and includes a catalog comprised from NASA transcripts that 'retraces mankind's first journey to another world, step by step,' the auction house said.

'The astronauts are often portrayed as great scientists and heroes, but rarely are they hailed as some of the most significant photographers of all time,' Martin-Malburet said. 'From the thin protections of their space capsules and EMUs (extravehicular Mobility Units), they captured, with skill and daring, photographs, which immediately embraced the iconography of the sublime, inspiring awe and wonder.'

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Christie's said the astronauts were instructed by specialists from NASA and photography companies Hasselblad, Kodak and Zeiss as well as Life and National Geographic photographers on using the analog technology of the day.

Nasa's Apollo Photos Online Download

'Through their cameras, the astronauts-turned-artists were able to convey to mankind the beauty and profundity of their experience into space, forever changing the way we see ourselves and our place in the universe,' the release said.

The online auction is open from Nov. 6-20.

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NASA with the help of the high-resolution camera onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been able to recreate the full Apollo 13 trip around the Moon in 4K resolution. (Image: NASA Goddard YouTube channel)

NASA’s Apollo 13 mission was one of the space agency’s missions, in which it tried to land on the Moon. However, a major malfunction blew it of course and might have caused the untimely demise of its three-man crew. But, constant effort from the agency and the flight crew brought everyone back safely.

Apollo Photos Nasa

At the time, the crew was able to use the Moon’s gravity to slingshot the spacecraft around and back to Earth. The mission did not end up as planned, with no-one from the crew setting foot on the Moon, however, it did end up providing the crew with a close-up look at the celestial body.

Now, NASA with the help of the high-resolution camera onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been able to recreate the full Apollo 13 trip around the Moon in 4K resolution. The video has a length of 2 minutes 24 seconds and has been posted on the official YouTube channel of NASA Goddard. You can take a look at the video below:

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The video apart from giving the viewers a glorious view of the far side of the Moon in 4K also provides them with fact nuggets about the mission. Between earthset and sunrise, while the crew was using the gravity of the moon to pull the spaceship back to Earth, the crew remained in darkness for 8 minutes.

Nasa's Apollo Photos Online Photo

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The video also depicts the path that the Apollo 13 took, to bring back the astronauts safely. The Apollo 13 was only able to re-establish radio contact with Mission Control. The video has been sped up, showing various parts of the lunar surface.