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Lot 196
[Apollo 9] COMMAND MODULE GUMDROP FLOATING ABOVE EARTH'S HORIZON James McDivitt or Russell Schweickart, 3–13 March 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€500 - €700
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[Apollo 9] COMMAND MODULE GUMDROP FLOATING ABOVE EARTH'S HORIZON
James McDivitt or Russell Schweickart, 3–13 March 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS9-24-3633].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS9-24-3633" in red in the top margin, originally laminated (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
This breathtaking Apollo 9 photograph captures the Command Module Gumdrop floating against the vast blackness of space, with Earth's curved horizon fading into the distance 145 miles below. Taken by Jim McDivitt from the Lunar Module Spider, the image highlights the sleek, silver-white spacecraft that would soon carry astronauts to the Moon and back.
With its conical shape and attached Service Module, Gumdrop appears suspended between two worlds—Earth, its place of origin, and the deep void beyond, where future Apollo missions would venture. The faint glow of Earth's atmosphere underscores the fragile boundary between home and the unknown.
This image symbolizes the essential role of the Command and Service Module in the Apollo program—strong yet lightweight, it was designed to sustain crews for days in deep space, navigate to the Moon, and ensure their safe return to Earth.
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS9-24-3633].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS9-24-3633" in red in the top margin, originally laminated (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
This breathtaking Apollo 9 photograph captures the Command Module Gumdrop floating against the vast blackness of space, with Earth's curved horizon fading into the distance 145 miles below. Taken by Jim McDivitt from the Lunar Module Spider, the image highlights the sleek, silver-white spacecraft that would soon carry astronauts to the Moon and back.
With its conical shape and attached Service Module, Gumdrop appears suspended between two worlds—Earth, its place of origin, and the deep void beyond, where future Apollo missions would venture. The faint glow of Earth's atmosphere underscores the fragile boundary between home and the unknown.
This image symbolizes the essential role of the Command and Service Module in the Apollo program—strong yet lightweight, it was designed to sustain crews for days in deep space, navigate to the Moon, and ensure their safe return to Earth.