Skip to main content
BonhamsCornette de Saint Cyr
Search

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Previous Lot
Next Lot
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 1
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 2
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 3
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 4
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 5
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 6
[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968 image 7
Lot 175

[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler
Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968

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 €256 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Post-War and Contemporary Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

[Apollo 8] THE MOON'S FARSIDE FIRST SEEN BY HUMANS (diptych): sunlit terrain of Crater Keeler

Frank Borman, 21-27 December 1968

Printed 1968.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [overlapping NASA image AS8-14-2431 and AS8-14-2432].
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)

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

Historical context
During Apollo 8's orbit 8, Frank Borman captured these very rare colour vertical photographs with the Hasselblad 500EL equipped with a 250mm telephoto lens, enjoying a solitary view of the spectacular and uncharted far side of the Moon while Lovell and Anders slept. These overlapping images reveal intricate details of the rugged lunar terrain, showcasing the floor of the 37-km-wide Crater Planté (10°S latitude, 163°E longitude, unnamed at the time of the mission), located near the eastern inner wall of the much larger 160-km-wide Crater Keeler (also unnamed at the time). Each frame covers approximately 32 km (20 miles) per side.
"We were like three school kids. The most awe-inspiring sight. Looking back at the back side of the Moon [...] for the very first time."
—James Lovell (Chaikin, Voices, p. 36)

Footnotes

The far side of the Moon, often mistakenly called the "Dark Side", refers to the lunar hemisphere that permanently faces away from Earth. The Apollo 8 crew became the first humans in history to witness this hidden world with their own eyes. Contrary to common belief, the far side is not shrouded in darkness—it receives sunlight just like the nearside. The term "dark" in this context is figurative, signifying its invisibility from Earth due to "Tidal Locking." A more accurate term for this unseen region is the "far side" or "backside" rather than the misleading "dark side."

Literature
National Geographic, May 1969, p. 618 (first photograph)
TIME, 10 January 1969, p. 43 (second photograph)

Additional information

Bid now on these items