Life Magazine 9 June 1969

Life Magazine 9 June 1969

This issue of Life Magazine from 9 June 1969 is titled 'The Great Adventure of Apollo 10'. The Apollo 10 mission allowed NASA the chance to test out the necessary systems for landing on the Moon, without actually landing. The Lunar Module descended to within 16 kilometres of the Moon’s surface, before ascending back up to re-join the Command Module. The success of the mission allowed NASA to confidently send Apollo 11 on its historic journey two months later.

On the cover of this issue is an image of the liftoff of Apollo 10 superimposed on the lunar surface. It was created by Life photographer Ralph Morse, who spent a decade chronicling the United States' space programme. The magazine includes articles about Apollo 10 and candid photographs of the crew members Gene Cernan, John Young, and Tom Stafford, spending their leisure time together before the launch.

Life was an American magazine that ran until 2007. Time magazine founder, Henry Luce, purchased Life in 1936. Originally a general interest magazine, Luce converted Life to focus more on photojournalism. The Apollo programme and the Moon Landings became a big favourite for the magazine, as the astronauts sent back better and better quality images with every mission that went to the Moon.