Camera, Nikon F, Dummy

Small, handheld 35mm cameras, similar to this single-lens reflex Nikon camera, were commonly used by astronauts starting with John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission in 1962. Though surpassed by the high-quality 70mm Hasselblad cameras, many missions through the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs had at least one 35mm camera on-board. This Nikon F series camera is of the same type as those used on the Skylab missions, when the workshop carried five 35mm cameras and only one Hasselblad camera.Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, Inc. donated this camera to the Museum in 1977.