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Lot 125
[Gemini XII] THE FIRST SELFIE IN OUTER SPACE Buzz Aldrin, 11-15 November 1966
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€8,000 - €12,000
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[Gemini XII] THE FIRST SELFIE IN OUTER SPACE
Buzz Aldrin, 11-15 November 1966
Printed 1966.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-66-62926].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-66-62926" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
A photography icon: the first self-portrait of a human being in outer space was captured spontaneously by Buzz Aldrin, who radioed to Mission Control: 'I never did think about taking a picture of myself.'
The original NASA caption was rather mundane: "Astronaut Aldrin is photographed with the spacecraft hatch open."
Much later, Buzz Aldrin himself reclaimed the image as the first selfie in space, captioning it: "THE BEST SELFIE EVER."
This extraordinary photograph truly embodies the pioneering spirit of astronauts, the grandeur of space exploration, and humanity's relentless drive to explore the unknown.
Printed 1966.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-66-62926].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-66-62926" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
A photography icon: the first self-portrait of a human being in outer space was captured spontaneously by Buzz Aldrin, who radioed to Mission Control: 'I never did think about taking a picture of myself.'
The original NASA caption was rather mundane: "Astronaut Aldrin is photographed with the spacecraft hatch open."
Much later, Buzz Aldrin himself reclaimed the image as the first selfie in space, captioning it: "THE BEST SELFIE EVER."
This extraordinary photograph truly embodies the pioneering spirit of astronauts, the grandeur of space exploration, and humanity's relentless drive to explore the unknown.
Footnotes
At the end of his stand-up EVA, realizing he had spare film, Aldrin lowered his gold-plated visor and aimed the Super-Wide Hasselblad camera with its 38mm lens for a rare self-portrait that clearly shows his features—a stark contrast to previous photographs of spacewalkers, where sunlight reflecting off visors obscured their faces. His gaze through the visor conveys focus and determination, underscoring the human aspect of space exploration.
The back of the blue Maurer 70mm space camera is visible in the lower left-hand corner, alongside the L-band antenna of the Agena target docking vehicle docked to the Gemini spacecraft. The Atlantic Ocean and the coast of Africa provide the breathtaking backdrop.
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
020:59:01 Aldrin: Now let me raise my visor and I'll smile.
020:59:28 Lovell: Okay. It's 35 minutes. Do you want to start bringing the camera in and getting it all squared away?
020:59:52 Aldrin: Well, we still have a lot of daylight.
021:00:33 Aldrin: Which camera do you mean you want to get in?
021:00:35 Lovell: I want to get in the EVA 16mm.
021:00:40 Aldrin: Okay.
021:00:42 Aldrin: Well, the Hasselblad's just about empty.
021:01:06 Aldrin: I never did think about taking a picture of myself.
Literature
LIFE, 2 December 1966, p. 40
Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, p. 71
Exploring Space with a Camera (NASA SP-168), Cortright, ed., p. 184
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 4
Images from space: the camera in orbit, Arnold, plate 12
Additional information
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