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Lot 164
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST CLEAR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM ANOTHER WORLD: Langrenus Crater following lunar orbit insertion Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €332.80 inc. premium
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[Apollo 8] THE FIRST CLEAR PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM ANOTHER WORLD: Langrenus Crater following lunar orbit insertion
Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968
Printed 1968.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-16-2615].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA / North American Rockwell, Downey, California). (North American Rockwell was NASA's prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service Modules).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
For three days, the Apollo 8 astronauts travelled through the vastness of space toward a goal they could not yet see—the Moon remained hidden in darkness due to their approach trajectory. Only upon entering lunar orbit did its surface suddenly fill their view for the first time in human history.
This historic first clear photograph taken from another world—after two or three blurry initial shots—was captured by Mission Commander Frank Borman after the successful lunar orbit insertion burn, marking Apollo 8 as the first crewed spacecraft to circle the Moon.
James Lovell described their first impressions: "The Moon is essentially grey, no colour; looks like plaster of Paris or sort of a greyish beach sand. [...] Langrenus is quite a huge crater; it's got a central cone to it. The walls of the crater are terraced, about six or seven different terraces on the way down."
The photograph shows Langrenus Crater, a 132-km-wide impact crater on the lunar nearside, seen from 240 km altitude, looking southwest. Borman used a Hasselblad 500EL camera with an 80mm lens and colour magazine 16/A. Coordinates: 9° S / 61° E.
Printed 1968.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-16-2615].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA / North American Rockwell, Downey, California). (North American Rockwell was NASA's prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service Modules).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
For three days, the Apollo 8 astronauts travelled through the vastness of space toward a goal they could not yet see—the Moon remained hidden in darkness due to their approach trajectory. Only upon entering lunar orbit did its surface suddenly fill their view for the first time in human history.
This historic first clear photograph taken from another world—after two or three blurry initial shots—was captured by Mission Commander Frank Borman after the successful lunar orbit insertion burn, marking Apollo 8 as the first crewed spacecraft to circle the Moon.
James Lovell described their first impressions: "The Moon is essentially grey, no colour; looks like plaster of Paris or sort of a greyish beach sand. [...] Langrenus is quite a huge crater; it's got a central cone to it. The walls of the crater are terraced, about six or seven different terraces on the way down."
The photograph shows Langrenus Crater, a 132-km-wide impact crater on the lunar nearside, seen from 240 km altitude, looking southwest. Borman used a Hasselblad 500EL camera with an 80mm lens and colour magazine 16/A. Coordinates: 9° S / 61° E.
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken, following lunar orbit insertion:
069:33:52 Lovell: Go ahead, Houston, (This is) Apollo 8. Burn complete. Our orbit (is) 169.1 by 60.5; 169.1 by 60.5 (nautical miles).
069:34:07 Carr (Mission Control): Apollo 8, this is Houston. Roger, 169.1 by 60.5. Good to hear your voice. [...]
069:49:47 Lovell: For information, we're passing over just to the side of the crater Langrenus at this time, going into the Sea of Fertility. [...]
069:51:04 Carr: Apollo 8, Houston. What does the ole Moon look like from 60 miles? Over.
069:51:16 Lovell: Okay, Houston. The Moon is essentially grey, no colour; looks like plaster of Paris or sort of a greyish beach sand. We can see quite a bit of detail. The Sea of Fertility doesn't stand out as well here as it does back on Earth. There's not as much contrast between that and the surrounding craters. [Pause.] The craters are all rounded off. There's quite a few of them, some of them are newer. Many of them look like - especially the round ones - look like hit by meteorites or projectiles of some sort. [Pause.] Langrenus is quite a huge crater; it's got a central cone to it. [Long pause.] The walls of the crater are terraced, about six or seven different terraces on the way down.
Literature
National Geographic, May 1969, p. 618
Newsweek, 2 June 1969, cover
TIME, 10 January 1969, p. 43
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 97
Moon: Man's Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., p. 158
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon, Cortright, ed., chapter 9.5
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