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Lot 243
[Apollo 11] FIRST HUMAN VIEW OF ANOTHER WORLD: the Sea of Tranquillity seen from LM Eagle's pilot window after landing Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €768 inc. premium
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[Apollo 11] FIRST HUMAN VIEW OF ANOTHER WORLD: the Sea of Tranquillity seen from LM Eagle's pilot window after landing
Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-37-5458].
Numbered "NASA AS11-37-5458" in red in the top margin, with NASA caption and "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
First Look at a new world—The Apollo 11 landing site before humanity's first steps.
This historic photograph is one of the very first images taken from a spacecraft on the surface of another world—the only pre-moonwalk surface photograph published by NASA after the mission. Captured approximately one hour after landing, this image ensured that if an emergency departure was required (a "No Stay" decision), the crew would not leave without surface imagery.
Shot by Buzz Aldrin through the LM Pilot window, this image was taken with the Hasselblad IVA (Intra-Vehicular Activity) 500EL and colour magazine 37/R. It was part of the first panoramic sequence by both Armstrong and Aldrin, providing a crucial geological record for scientists on Earth. The view looks south toward the horizon at Tranquillity Base, with a thruster of the LM Eagle visible in the foreground.
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-37-5458].
Numbered "NASA AS11-37-5458" in red in the top margin, with NASA caption and "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
First Look at a new world—The Apollo 11 landing site before humanity's first steps.
This historic photograph is one of the very first images taken from a spacecraft on the surface of another world—the only pre-moonwalk surface photograph published by NASA after the mission. Captured approximately one hour after landing, this image ensured that if an emergency departure was required (a "No Stay" decision), the crew would not leave without surface imagery.
Shot by Buzz Aldrin through the LM Pilot window, this image was taken with the Hasselblad IVA (Intra-Vehicular Activity) 500EL and colour magazine 37/R. It was part of the first panoramic sequence by both Armstrong and Aldrin, providing a crucial geological record for scientists on Earth. The view looks south toward the horizon at Tranquillity Base, with a thruster of the LM Eagle visible in the foreground.
Footnotes
From the mission transcript just after landing:
102:56:02 Aldrin: We'll get to the details of what's around here (later), but it looks like a collection of just about every variety of shape, angularity, granularity, about every variety of rock you could find. The colour is...Well, it varies pretty much depending on how you're looking relative to the zero-phase point. There doesn't appear to be too much of a general colour at all. However, it looks as though some of the rocks and boulders, of which there are
quite a few in the near area... It looks as though they're going to have some interesting colours to them. Over.
Literature
Moon: Man's Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., pp. 190-191
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 landing from PDI to Touchdown