Otis Imboden

Otis Imboden was a National Geographic photographer who documented NASA’s early space program from 1961-1969. Hired fresh from Panama, where he worked in public relations, the Memphis-born photographer was stationed at Cape Canaveral to cover Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. He famously scuba-dived with John Glenn the day after his historic orbital flight and served as primary pool photographer for multiple launches and recoveries. His images were distributed worldwide through the Still Photo Pool consortium. Imboden photographed everything from X-15 tests to astronaut survival training and the Apollo 11 Mission Control celebration. He received the Apollo Achievement Award in 1969 before retiring from National Geographic in 1986.