Treasure trove of Apollo moon photos released

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Project Apollo Archive has collected images from Apollo missions 7 through 17

The photos capture dramatic moon walks and fun candid moments

The archive's Flickr page has more than 12,000 photographs

CNN  — 

Mars is getting all the space-related love these days with the release of Matt Damon’s hit film “The Martian,” but what about the moon?

Unlike Mars, we’ve actually been there, and there’s a huge new trove of photos from the Apollo space missions to prove it. The images themselves aren’t new, but they were shared en masse recently on the Project Apollo Archive Flickr account.

The archive is maintained by space enthusiast Kipp Teague and includes Apollo-related digital images released into the public domain by NASA. It contains more than 12,000 photos.

The collection spans from Apollo 7, the first manned test flight in 1968, through Apollo 17, the program’s final lunar mission in 1972. The images include shots of the Apollo spacecraft and modules in action, as well as dream-like photos of the Earth, the moon and astronauts doing their thing in zero gravity.

Candid snaps of Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan mugging for the camera and crew member Harrison Schmitt floating shirtless while shaving reveal the humanity and humor behind the fabled space program.

The Johnson Space Center and its Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth website provided many of the photos, which are supplemented by images from the Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Apollo Image Atlas.

CNN’s Kyle Almond and Bernadette Tuazon contributed to this story.

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