Moonwalk video gets a makeover

A side-by-side comparison shows a frame from NASA's archival video of Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong making his way down the lunar module's ladder to the moon's surface at left, and a restored version of the same frame at right. Click on the image to watch restored highlights.

It's one small step for a man, one giant leap for video restoration.

Forty years after the fact, some of the most historic moments of Apollo 11's televised moonwalk have been brought into sharper focus using computerized image processing techniques.

The black-and-white video still pales in comparison with today's high-definition space extravaganzas, but the experts behind the restoration project emphasize that this is a work in progress. NASA promises that when the restoration of the moonwalk video is complete, the public will see "the highest-quality video of this historic event."

Samples of the restored video - including Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong's climb down the lunar module's ladder, his "one small step" onto the lunar surface and the raising of the American flag - were released today at the Newseum in Washington to commemorate the 1969 moon mission. Today marks the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's launch, and on Monday it will be 40 years to the day since Armstrong and crewmate Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.

The restoration brings out additional details in the fuzzy video that Americans saw on their TV sets on July 20, 1969, and at the same time smooths out the electronic "snow" in the picture.

Click here for the video.

(Via MSNBC)

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