One point regardsing possible color on the lunar surface for Apollo 11 was recounted in "Live TV From the Moon" (p. 131)
"A contingency plan submitted by Westinghouse contained a proposal and study to modify and adapt the slow scan black-and-white lunar TV camera to provide a color image. It consisted of a mechanical device placed over the TV camera lens it which was basically an external version of the color wheel in the color Westinghouse cameras. A reference black segment was incorporated on the wheel to allow calibration as the sequence started. Three quadrants of the primary colors red, green and blue were automatically moved into position when the starter sequence was started by the astronaut. The filters were moved by way of a spring loaded rotating wheel mechanism. Each filter would rotate into position resulting in a sequential color signal being sent via the slow scan TV camera to Earth. The movement and dwell time of each filter was 4.8 seconds with the end color, blue being the one the mechanism rested on until the rotation sequence was started again.
This color sequence would be reconstituted on the ground via a Polaroid camera with a color filter placed over its lens. A decoder system was put in place to match the ground color wheel with the
appropriate incoming color. The three color frames would then be exposed on top of one another in the Polaroid camera with the resulting photograph being a full colour image! This mechanical system was devised as a back up to the color film cameras in case of malfunction, or in a worst case scenario, if the astronauts became stranded on the moon, they could at least return immediate color images of the surface features. Despite having a weight of only 1.5 pounds, the idea was never adopted by NASA."
A pity that was never incorporated in the mission plan to at least send immediate color images back to an eager viewing public. Regarding plans for color TV on the lunar surface, this is from pages 161 to 162:
"The mission of Apollo 12, although being the second lunar landing, was also one that contained a number of “firsts”. Building upon the achievements of Apollo 11, the mission was to attempt a more scientific assignment, aided by the pinpoint landing at Surveyor crater, the site where the unmanned Surveyor III probe had landed in 1967. Realising the potential for generating huge public interest in the moonwalks, a color TV camera became one of the new things to appear on the mission plans. George Low in a June 26 memo to Sam Phillips announced that there was hurried research into the feasibility of implementing a color television camera into the lunar surface items for the Apollo 12 landing. He mentioned that even from a color camera, the black-and-white image was notably of better quality. He cautioned however, that at such a late date, “…it would be best not to plan on using this system for a September Apollo 12 flight.” However, if the flight moved to a November launch date, the camera was ready to fly. With two lunar EVAs planned, the use of a color TV camera was a bold step in showing the world just how the surface of the moon looked, live and in color.
A series of tests were performed on October 19, 1969 to evaluate whether the LM communication could handle the color signal without any hindrance to its communications system. The tests were carried out via the Merritt Island Facility and relayed to the Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston where appraisal was made of the S-Band signal in its lunar surface EVA configuration. The conclusion was not optimistic for the color TV camera. Despite revealing no adverse effects on the entire data package contained in the transmitted S-Band signal, there was notable picture
disturbance caused internally by the camera. A pattern of horizontal lines which were a by-product of the color wheel motor and the 100 foot long video cable, which would be connected to the camera as it was activated for the first time, were evident on the images, rendering the quality completely unacceptable. The recommendation was made for a series of filters to minimize the annoying lines, and to assist in better overall signal quality. With the possibility of not having color television beamed from the lunar surface, urgent modifications were recommended to the TV camera to eliminate the problem
of the horizontal line interference as quickly as possible."
