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Lot 210
[Apollo 10] THE PATHFINDER DESCENT TOWARD THE MOON'S SURFACE (diptych) Eugene Cernan, or Thomas Stafford, May 18-26, 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€600 - €800
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[Apollo 10] THE PATHFINDER DESCENT TOWARD THE MOON'S SURFACE (diptych)
Eugene Cernan, or Thomas Stafford, May 18-26, 1969
Printed 1969.
Two vintage gelatin silver prints on fibre-based paper [NASA images AS10-29-4187 and AS10-29-4247].
Numbered "NASA AS10-29-4187" and "NASA AS10-29-4247" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
Each:20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
The astonishingly low altitude of Lunar Module Snoopy over the Moon is evident in these unprecedented photographs—the first taken during a manned descent toward another world.
Apollo 10's primary objective was to fly within 50,000 feet (15 km) of the surface to survey Landing Site 2 in the Sea of Tranquillity, the planned destination for Apollo 11's historic landing. These forward-facing (westward) images, taken with the 80mm Hasselblad lens, capture the breathtaking lunar terrain as the crew navigated perilously close to the surface.
The mission transcript conveys the crew's exhilaration:
100:04:19 Stafford (Snoopy): You know, this place is starting to look at home.
100:05:59 Cernan (Snoopy): I tell you, babe, we's getting down among them.
Printed 1969.
Two vintage gelatin silver prints on fibre-based paper [NASA images AS10-29-4187 and AS10-29-4247].
Numbered "NASA AS10-29-4187" and "NASA AS10-29-4247" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
Each:20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
The astonishingly low altitude of Lunar Module Snoopy over the Moon is evident in these unprecedented photographs—the first taken during a manned descent toward another world.
Apollo 10's primary objective was to fly within 50,000 feet (15 km) of the surface to survey Landing Site 2 in the Sea of Tranquillity, the planned destination for Apollo 11's historic landing. These forward-facing (westward) images, taken with the 80mm Hasselblad lens, capture the breathtaking lunar terrain as the crew navigated perilously close to the surface.
The mission transcript conveys the crew's exhilaration:
100:04:19 Stafford (Snoopy): You know, this place is starting to look at home.
100:05:59 Cernan (Snoopy): I tell you, babe, we's getting down among them.
Footnotes
The first photograph was taken over the Moon's far side, showing the southern floor of the giant crater Mendeleev (0.2° N / 142.5° E) named crater IX by the crew (see mission transcript), with Snoopy flying just 14 miles (22.5 km) below the Command Module Charlie Brown. The second photograph, taken over the nearside from an even lower altitude, reveals the Sea of Fertility (1° N / 56° E) as Snoopy descended toward the Sea of Tranquillity, bringing humanity closer than ever to a lunar landing.
"The flight of Apollo 10 permitted man to observe directly features on the lunar surface from an altitude of 50 000 ft, an altitude within the range of high performance aircraft on Earth." The Apollo 10 crew (NASA SP-232, p. 1)
From the mission transcript when the first photograph was taken:
100:03:49 Stafford (Snoopy): OK. Coming down here we should be on black and white - f:4 at 250. [...]
100:04:19 Stafford (Snoopy): You know, this place is starting to look at home. [...]
100:05:59 Cernan (Snoopy): I tell you, babe, we's getting down among them.
100:06:17 Young (Charlie Brown): Yes. I guess you're about straight under me now - 14 miles. [...]
100:08:23 Stafford (Snoopy): We're coming up to crater IX. José, we're coming up to crater IX, I think. We'll be going straight across it.
100:08:28 Young (Charlie Brown): Roger.
From the mission transcript when the second photograph was taken:
100:38:31 Young (Charlie Brown): Boy! Are they down there among them!
100:38:34 Duke (Mission Control): Roger. Bet it looks like they're really hauling the mail.
100:38:39 Cernan (Snoopy): Yes. We're doing it. Surprisingly enough, Charlie, it really doesn't look like we're moving too fast down here. It's a very nice pleasant pace.
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 10 - To Sort Out The Unknowns (1969)