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[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 1
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 2
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 3
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 4
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 5
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 6
[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 7
Lot 17

[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

Sold for €28,160 inc. premium

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[Apollo 11] A MAN ON THE MOON: portrait of Buzz Aldrin with the photographer, LM Eagle and Earth reflected in his gold-plated sun visor

Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969

Printed 1969.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5903].
Numbered "NASA AS11-40-5903" in red in the top margin, with "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
An exceptionally sharp print of the most famous image of a man on the Moon—an iconic photograph etched into our collective visual memory.
Aldrin's gold-plated visor reflects his photographer Neil Armstrong, the Eagle, the American flag, the Solar Wind Collector, and even Earth itself—a tiny dot at the top centre of the visor. This remarkable composition encapsulates the spirit of the Apollo 11 mission in a single frame.
Neil Armstrong captured this legendary full-length portrait of Buzz Aldrin, widely known as the "Visor Shot," using the 70mm Hasselblad 500 EL Data Camera mounted on the Remote-Control Unit on his chest. In the photograph, Aldrin stands beside one of the golden landing pads of the Lunar Module (Eagle).
*"Nothing prepared me for the starkness of the Moon. The barren terrain was a dusty grey with many little craters in every direction. The sky was utter blackness, void of any stars. As I walked away from the Eagle Lunar Module, Neil said, 'Hold it, Buzz.' So, I stopped and turned around, and then he took what has become known as the 'Visor' photo.
I like this photo because it captures the moment of a solitary figure against the horizon of the Moon, along with a reflection in my helmet's visor of our home away from home, the Eagle, and of Neil snapping the photo."*
—Buzz Aldrin (Jacobs, p. 63)

Footnotes

Literature
LIFE, 11 August 1969, cover
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, December 1969, cover
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, December 1969, pp. 736-737
NEWSWEEK, 11 August 1969, cover
LOOK, August 1969, cover
LIFE, 8 August 1969, pp. 26-27
TIME, 8 August 1969, p. 23
Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, p. 95
Moon: Man's Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., frontispiece
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 62
Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, p. 145
Images from Space, The Camera in Orbit, Arnold, pl. 17
Voices, Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences, Chaikin, p. 179
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., cover.

Watch more
CLICK HERE: APOLLO 11 LUNAR MISSION NASA HISTORIC FILM "THE EAGLE HAS LANDED" 72912

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