Gemini manned flight Date Astronauts Duration

Gemini III March 23, 1965 Virgil I. Grissom, John W. Young 4 hours 52 minutes 31 seconds

Gemini IV June 3–7, 1965 James A. McDivitt, Edward H. White II 4 days 1 hour 56 minutes 12 seconds 

Gemini V August 21–29, 1965 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Charles Conrad, Jr. 7 days 22 hours 55 minutes 14 seconds 

Gemini VII December 4–18, 1965 Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr. 13 days 18 hours 35 minutes 1 second

Gemini VI December 15–16, 1965 Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Thomas P. Stafford 1 day 1 hour 51 minutes 24 seconds 

Gemini VIII March 16, 1966 Neil A. Armstrong, David R. Scott 10 hours 41 minutes 26 seconds

Gemini IX June 3–6, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan 3 days 21 hours

Gemini X July 18–21, 1966 John W. Young, Michael Collins 2 days 22 hours 46 minutes 39 seconds

Gemini XI September 12–15, 1966 Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, Jr. 2 days 23 hours 17 minutes 8 seconds

Gemini XII November 11–15, 1966 James A. Lovell, Jr., Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. 3 days 22 hours 34 minutes 31 seconds

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2008–3045

June 2008

Space Acquired Photography

Interested in a photograph of the first space walk by an 

American astronaut, or the first photograph from space of a 

solar eclipse? Or maybe your interest is in a specific geologic, 

oceanic, or meteorological phenomenon? The U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science 

(EROS) Center is making photographs of the Earth taken from 

space available for search, download, and ordering. These 

photographs were taken by Gemini mission astronauts with 

handheld cameras or by the Large Format Camera (LFC) 

that flew on space shuttle Challenger in October 1984. Space 

photographs are distributed by EROS only as high-resolution 

scanned or medium-resolution digitized products.

Project Gemini photographs were taken by NASA astronauts 

with handheld cameras during Gemini Missions III through 

XII between March 23, 1965, and November 15, 1966. The 

collection includes over 2,500 camera images of geologic, 

oceanic, and meteorological targets, as well as historical 

photography, such as the first docking of two space vehicles. 

The Gemini photography collection was shot on 70-mm and 

5 inch by 5 inch film, primarily color, but with some black and 

white and color-infrared coverage. The USGS also provides 

search aids and product support through their commercial 

vendors (http://edc2.usgs.gov/referrals/index.asp).

The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth 

(NASA–Johnson Space Center) hosts the complete 

collection of astronaut photographs of the Earth and 

is located at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/.

Shuttle LFC images were acquired during the space shuttle 

Challenger flight on October 5–13, 1984. The LFC was 

mounted in the cargo bay and operated by signals transmitted 

from ground controllers. Shuttle LFC photographs are 

distributed as digital products only.

Gulf Coast of the United States, including the area of Mobile, 

Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida. Entity ID: AR7G05000445609; 

Center Coordinates: 30°22’53”N, 87°8’35”W; Acquisition 

Date: 1965/08/24

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini.html
Digital file sizes Original film size Spot size File sizes

Black and white Color/color infrared

Gemini 70 mm 21 micron (1200 dpi) 15 MB 45 MB

14 micron (1800 dpi) 30 MB 90 MB

5 x 5 inch 21 micron (1200 dpi) 40 MB 120 MB

14 micron (1800 dpi) 80 MB 240 MB

Large Format Camera 9 x 18 inch 21 micron (1200 dpi) 117 MB (x 2 files) 350 MB (x 2 files)

14 micron (1800 dpi) 262 MB (x 2 files) 787 MB (x 2 files)

Actual file sizes may differ from those listed in the table above. Metadata printed on the film are scanned along with the image data, and a 

USGS visual identifier is embedded in the image.

High-Resolution and Medium-Resolution Digitized 

Photography

Both Gemini and LFC film products have been scanned 

and are now available as either high-resolution scanned or 

medium-resolution digitized photography. Medium-resolution 

photography is digitized at approximately 400 dpi, and files 

are created in TIFF format. The file size for medium resolution 

products is approximately 15 MB for black and white images 

and 40 MB for color images. High-resolution images can be 

105 MB per black and white image and as much as 240 MB for 

a color image.

Prices

High resolution scanned: $30.00 per frame*

Medium resolution digitized: $3.00 per frame*

*Prices subject to change.

For current delivery options see 

http://eros.usgs.gov/products/aerial/space.html

Search and Order

All the images at EROS can be searched and ordered through 

Earth Explorer at http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov

Data Applications

Gemini images were taken as long ago as the mid-1960s, before 

Landsat was launched, and cover many areas outside the United 

States for which 1960s aerial photography is not available. 

The LFC imager involved only one flight mission in October 

of 1984. The LFC was retired from service after the loss of the 

space shuttle Challenger.

The Gemini and LFC imagery is useful for making general 

land cover assessments and for general studies of change 

in geomorphic features (for example, barrier islands) and 

hydrology (for example, wetlands/lakes).

For further assistance, please contact:

Customer Services

U.S. Geological Survey

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

Sioux Falls, SD 57198–0001

Fax: 

Email: 

Business hours: 

605–594–6589

lta@usgs.gov

Monday through Friday

8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Central Time