Fairchild Lunar Mapping Camera System Scrapbook Hutchins
Fairchild Space and Defense Systems (FSDS), a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation produced for NASA a Lunar Mapping Camera System that produced high resolution metric photographs of the Moon's surface. The system consisted of two precisely oriented frame cameras mounted in the forward portion of the Apollo Scientific Instrument Module for the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. It was remotely operated by the Command Module pilot during lunar orbit, and was deployed from the Apollo spacecraft when ready for use. Upon completion of the photographic mission, the camera was retracted and an astronaut performed an EVA to retrieve the film record container. The resulting photography was processed on the ground and provided scientific information of selenodesy as well as data on landing site analysis and topographic map compilation. Albert G. Hutchins was the program director of the FSDS's Lunar Mapping Camera Systems, working at FSDS from 1957 until 1975.
