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[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968 image 1
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968 image 2
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968 image 3
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968 image 4
[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH William Anders, 21–27 December 1968 image 5
Lot 178

[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH
William Anders, 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

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[Apollo 8] THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WHOLE MOON TAKEN BY HUMANS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN EARTH

William Anders, 21–27 December 1968

Printed 1968.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS8-14-2506].
Numbered "NASA AS8-14-2506" in red in the top margin, with "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).

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

Historical context
This is the first-ever photograph taken by humans of the whole Moon revealing a hemisphere never visible from Earth, as seen only by lunar voyagers.
For three days on their translunar journey, the Apollo 8 astronauts travelled through the vast emptiness of space toward a destination they could not yet see—the Moon remained hidden in darkness due to their trajectory. Only upon entering lunar orbit did its immense surface suddenly dominate their view, marking the first time in human history that people had seen the Moon up close.
However, it was only after performing the first-ever trans-Earth injection manoeuvre—gaining altitude above the lunar surface—that the Apollo 8 astronauts became the first humans to witness this breathtaking full view of the Moon. Seen from above its eastern limb, this perspective is one never visible from Earth.
Between December 1968 and December 1972, only the 24 Apollo Moon voyagers would ever witness such whole-Moon views.

Footnotes

William Anders captured this historic photograph with a 250mm telephoto lens. Familiar nearside features such as the Seas of Tranquillity, Fertility, Crises, and Nectar are clearly visible, while the eastern limb reveals the Southern Sea, Smyth's Sea, Border Sea, and Crater Humboldt without extreme foreshortening. The right half of the image is dominated by the rugged, cratered expanse of the lunar far side—a landscape hidden from Earthbound eyes.

"I think the Moon resembled what the Earth must've looked like before there was life. Or what it could look like after an all-out nuclear war."
—Frank Borman (Voices of Apollo, p. 45)

Literature
LIFE, 10 January 1969, pp. 26-27
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, May 1969, pp. 622-623
TIME, 10 January 1969, p. 43
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 96

Watch more
CLICK HERE: NASA APOLLO 8 MANNED SPACE FLIGHT REPORT 1968 LUNAR MISSION 63124

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