Watch | Nasa releases thousands of high-res Apollo Mission photos

Space enthusiasts got a special treat this week as Nasa released more than 11,000 photos from its Project Apollo Archive, the vast majority of which feature pictures taken during the lunar (moon-landing) missions. NASA posted the photos on the Project Apollo Archive Flickr account, and they span from the first manned test flight in 1968, Apollo 7, to NASA's last lunar mission, Apollo 17, in 1972.

Among the shots are pictures of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon; Buzz Aldrin descending the lunar module before his first steps on the surface; and countless pictures of the moon's surface and Earth as seen from space.

The photos were taken by the astronauts themselves; they are all now in the public domain and free for viewing on the Project Apollo Archive Flickr account.