There’s something about old photographs. The perfect combination of faded light, outdated coloring, and nostalgia seems to make them more beautiful with age. Perhaps that’s why this collection of images from NASA’s Gemini Program is so great. The Project Gemini Online Digital Archive, released this weekend by NASA and Arizona State University, features high-resolution digital scans from the original Gemini flight films. As NASA’s second human spaceflight program, which had 10 manned flights between 1965 and 1966, Gemini saw such milestones as the first American spacewalk, first week-long spaceflight, and the first docking maneuver with another vehicle in space. The success of these objectives paved the way for the Apollo program, which immediately followed Gemini and landed the first men on the moon. Here, Wired presents some of the highlights from this archive. Above: Lost in Contemplation Astronaut Ed White, the first American to walk in space, looks at the beauty outside his capsule. His copilot, Jim McDivitt, took this photograph during the Gemini IV mission. Below, sunrise over the limb of the Earth taken on the same mission. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Earth Images These pictures are some of the earliest color photographs of Earth from space. Above, the view from the Gemini III capsule showing a billowing cloud formation over Madagascar. Below is a photo with the Mexican desert in the foreground and California behind it . 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Oceans and Deserts The top image comes from the Gemini IV mission and shows the Arabian Peninsula, featuring Wadi Hadhramaut in Yemen. The lower photo is a shot of the western Pacific Ocean, just past the Galápagos Islands. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Lake Nyasa The above photo shows Lake Nyasa, which borders Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi. Perhaps that’s what Commander C. Conrad Jr., of the Gemini V mission, is looking at from his window in the lower image. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Rendezvous in Space The sister missions, Gemini VI-A and VII, performed the first rendezvous in space between two manned spacecraft. They came within a foot of one another and could have docked, had they been equipped with the right rigging. The image above is a view of Gemini VII from the VI-A spacecraft. Below are two more images in the rendezvous sequence. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution], 3) [high-resolution]

Psychedelic Sand Dunes Because it was the 1960s, we need to provide this psychedelic picture of sand dunes taken over Algeria. The lower photo is a view of the Gemini VI-A spacecraft, as seen from Gemini VII, which joined it in orbit and passed within a foot. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Docking in Space The Gemini VIII mission docked with the unmanned Agena craft, seen floating above the world in this image. This technique was utilized later on during the Apollo missions to attach the crew module with the lunar lander. [high-resolution]

Unique Streaks Taken during the Gemini IX-A mission, the unique streaks above show uplifted rocks at the west edge of the Tibesti Mountains in Libya. The lower image features Lt. Col. Tom Stafford looking out the window during a rendezvous with the ATDA (augmented target docking adapter). 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]

Shy Astronaut Astronaut Michael Collins looking somewhat shy as he sits within his spacesuit inside the capsule during the Gemini X mission. [high-resolution]

Scorched Earth The Idehan-Marzuq Dunes between Libya, Algeria, and Niger look like they have been burnt red in the top image. The photo below shows astronaut Richard Gordon Jr. readying his equipment for the hatch opening during the Gemini XI mission. 1) [high-resolution], 2) [high-resolution]