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Lot 197
[Apollo 9] THE HISTORIC FIRST SPACEFLIGHT OF THE LUNAR MODULE: LM Spider floating upside down above Earth's horizon David Scott, 3-13 March 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €384 inc. premium
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[Apollo 9] THE HISTORIC FIRST SPACEFLIGHT OF THE LUNAR MODULE: LM Spider floating upside down above Earth's horizon
David Scott, 3-13 March 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS9-21-3212].
Numbered "NASA AS9-21-3212" 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
This stunning Apollo 9 photograph captures Lunar Module Spider drifting above the cloud-covered Sahara and Atlantic Ocean, 145 miles below. Floating upside down relative to Earth in the vast emptiness of space, Spider symbolizes humanity's bold leap toward the Moon—the very mission it was built for.
Taken by David Scott from Command Module Gumdrop, the image highlights Spider's delicate, spindly structure silhouetted against Earth's bright curvature. Unlike the sleek Command Module, its angular design was engineered solely for lunar gravity.
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS9-21-3212].
Numbered "NASA AS9-21-3212" 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
This stunning Apollo 9 photograph captures Lunar Module Spider drifting above the cloud-covered Sahara and Atlantic Ocean, 145 miles below. Floating upside down relative to Earth in the vast emptiness of space, Spider symbolizes humanity's bold leap toward the Moon—the very mission it was built for.
Taken by David Scott from Command Module Gumdrop, the image highlights Spider's delicate, spindly structure silhouetted against Earth's bright curvature. Unlike the sleek Command Module, its angular design was engineered solely for lunar gravity.
Footnotes
At this moment, Spider's descent engine was about to fire for 24.9 seconds to adjust its orbit to 137 by 167 miles, followed by another 24.4-second burn to circularize it at 154 by 160 miles—placing it 12 miles higher and about 100 miles away from the CSM. The manoeuvre was a crucial test in the dual-spacecraft approach that would soon allow Apollo astronauts to land on the Moon.
Literature
Apollo expeditions to the Moon, Cortright, ed. (NASA SP-350), p. 191
Spacecam: Photographing the Final Frontier from Apollo to Hubble, Hope, p. 62
Apollo: the epic journey to the Moon, Reynolds, p. 123
Watch more
CLICK HERE: APOLLO 9 THREE TO MAKE IT READY (1969) 13272