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Lot 138
[Apollo 6] STUNNING EARTH ORBITAL PANORAMA OVER THE SUNLIT ATLANTIC OCEAN NASA, 4 April 1968
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€2,000 - €3,000
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[Apollo 6] STUNNING EARTH ORBITAL PANORAMA OVER THE SUNLIT ATLANTIC OCEAN
NASA, 4 April 1968
Printed 1968.
Original montage of seven vintage chromogenic prints on fibre-based paper collaged together [NASA image AS6-2-1484 to AS6-2-1495]
Numbered between "MSC AS6-2-1484" and "MSC AS6-2-1495" in red in the top margin, with "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
Overall size: 28 x 89 cm. (11 x 35 in.)
Historical context
This breathtaking abstract panorama, capturing sun glint over the cloud-covered Atlantic Ocean, reveals the beauty of Earth from orbit. It was taken from Apollo 6, the final unmanned Earth-orbital test of the mighty Saturn V rocket—the vehicle that would soon carry astronauts to the Moon. Apollo 6's photographic mission aimed to capture an entire orbit of Earth in colour. Mounted inside the Command Module, the 70mm Maurer camera systematically photographed Earth's surface every 9 seconds, creating a continuous vertical sequence. The resulting images, covering sections of the U.S., the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the western Pacific, utilized haze-penetrating film and advanced filters, offering unprecedented colour balance and resolution—surpassing any Earth imagery captured during Mercury and Gemini missions. Recovered with the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean, these images set new standards for space-based Earth observation, providing invaluable cartographic, topographic, and geographic data.
Printed 1968.
Original montage of seven vintage chromogenic prints on fibre-based paper collaged together [NASA image AS6-2-1484 to AS6-2-1495]
Numbered between "MSC AS6-2-1484" and "MSC AS6-2-1495" in red in the top margin, with "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
Overall size: 28 x 89 cm. (11 x 35 in.)
Historical context
This breathtaking abstract panorama, capturing sun glint over the cloud-covered Atlantic Ocean, reveals the beauty of Earth from orbit. It was taken from Apollo 6, the final unmanned Earth-orbital test of the mighty Saturn V rocket—the vehicle that would soon carry astronauts to the Moon. Apollo 6's photographic mission aimed to capture an entire orbit of Earth in colour. Mounted inside the Command Module, the 70mm Maurer camera systematically photographed Earth's surface every 9 seconds, creating a continuous vertical sequence. The resulting images, covering sections of the U.S., the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the western Pacific, utilized haze-penetrating film and advanced filters, offering unprecedented colour balance and resolution—surpassing any Earth imagery captured during Mercury and Gemini missions. Recovered with the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean, these images set new standards for space-based Earth observation, providing invaluable cartographic, topographic, and geographic data.
Footnotes
This specific panorama, taken from 190 km above Earth, shows the spacecraft's south-eastward path (left to right) from the coast of Georgia and South Carolina (Altamaha Sound to Savannah River, 31.49°N, 82.07°W) toward the western Atlantic Ocean (30.07°N, 75.31°W), covering a 145 km-wide ground track.
Shortly after, the 70mm camera exhausted its colour film over the Atlantic Ocean.
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 6 Mission 1968 NASA; Saturn V & Apollo Spacecraft Earth Orbit Test
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