lenses for space missions

Before the Zeiss f/0.7 there were other lenses used in the space race. The Ranger program was a series of unmanned missions to space launched by NASA in the early 1960s, primarily to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the moon. Ranger 1, launched in August 1961 failed to launch. It was not until Ranger 7, launched in July 1964, that the first high-resolution images of the lunar surface were obtained.

The mission carried six lenses, two wide-angle, and four narrow-angle that transmitted on two channels. The F (for full) system had one wide-angle and one narrow-angle camera. The P (for partial) channel had 4 cameras: two wide-angle and 2 narrow-angle. The images provided better resolution than was available from Earth based views by a factor of 1000. All 6 cameras were RCA-Vidicon slow scan TV cameras using C-mount optics.

Three of the cameras (A,P3,P4) had a 25mm f/l lens and three had a 76mm f/2 lens [1]. The wide-angle lenses used were made by French optical company Angenieux and were 25mm M1 lenses with an adapter attached to mount them to the Vidicon cameras. Strangely enough the NASA documentation specs [1] these lenses out with f/1.0 apertures, but these lenses seem to actually be f/0.95.

The P.Angenieux Paris 25mm f0.95 Type M1 was developed in 1953. The patent for the lens, was issued in 1955 [2]. It is a 8 element lens in 6 groups. It is derived from the Gauss-type, from which is differs by the fact that each of the front lens, and the rear lens is subdivided into two lenses. This allows for the increase in relative aperture while retaining good correction for spherical aberrations.

You can still pick up one of these lenses today for circa US$500.

Crafting Pixels

Vintage lenses, photography and digital imagery

The other NASA lens – the Angenieux f/0.95

Further reading