In the 60s, when they first delivered humans above the atmosphere, did they take photos of the stars?

Question

Or in those long days of lunar orbit, did Apollo mission commanders take photos from the vantage point of the shadow cast by the Moon?

Answer 1

There were some photos of stars taken from above the atmosphere on the manned flights, but they were mostly using a UV camera, since the atmosphere prevents such photography from the ground.

An important thing to remember, however, is that stellar photography in the visisble spectrum using a camera operated by a person is almost entirely pointless. The stars look exactly the same on a photo taken in space or on the Moon as on a photo taken from a clear-sky site on Earth. On the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions the primary purpose of the photographic equipment the astronats had was to document the Earth from space or the Moon from orbit and on the surface. Photographs of the stars are much better taken by an automated satellite that can point at the same area of space for a long time without wobbling. The hand-held cameras used by the astronauts were not really suitable for taking star pictures precisely because they were hand-held. The long exposure times needed to get the stars to register on the film would have been impossible for a man holding a camera, even if it was mounted on his chest as the Apollo cameras often were, as he would be unable to remain still long enough to get good, clear pictures of the stars.

Answer 2

No the camera des not work in space. They also forgot to bring it.