T-MINUS 2 DAYS: Photo Gallery of Moon Landing Equipment

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing, we are revisiting our archives to reflect on our history of “firsts” and how it has shaped our commitment to innovation through mission-critical communications.

Black and White Photograph, 1969
A man wearing an astronaut’s spacesuit and backpack equipped with a small Motorola very high frequency (VHF) blade monopole antenna. The monopole antenna allowed astronauts to communicate back to their lunar landing vehicle while they explored the surface of the moon.

Black and White Photograph, 1969
Motorola technician Mandy Biondi comparing the power of a two-way radio used in the Apollo 11 command module to the power of a refrigerator lightbulb. The radio required 35 watts to communicate with Earth from the vicinity of the moon, less power than used by a refrigerator lightbulb.

Color Photograph, 1966
Motorola engineers checking an S-band radio transponder for physical compatibility in a model of the Apollo 11 command module. The S-band radio provided voice, ranging information, telemetry and television signals from deep space and was the only communications link between the command module crew and Earth from beyond 30,000 miles away.

Black and White Poster, 1970
Poster promoting Motorola's involvement in NASA's moon landing space program. The illustration depicts the lunar module undocking from the command module spacecraft above the moon's surface, with Earth in the background. Aboard the lunar module was Motorola's transceiver that provided radio signals confirming a successful lunar surface touchdown.

Black and White Illustration, 1968
Illustration of rocket and Apollo spacecraft used on the Apollo 8 mission that describes the Motorola equipment, including command module, instrument unit, third stage (S-IVB), second stage (SII), first stage (S-1C) and ground level.

Black and White Engineering Photograph, 1966
An image of the Motorola Apollo Block II [2] unified S-band transponder for the command module. A unit like this one provided all voice, TV, telemetry and ranging information between the Apollo spacecraft and Earth.