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Lot 244
[Apollo 11] THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: extremely rare unpublished photograph showing the first human view on the surface of another world Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €768 inc. premium
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[Apollo 11] THE EAGLE HAS LANDED: extremely rare unpublished photograph showing the first human view on the surface of another world
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS11-39-5747].
Numbered "NASA AS11-39-5747" in right margin (issued by NASA / United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
This exceptionally rare photograph was taken by Neil Armstrong from his LM Commander window, capturing the horizon of the Sea of Tranquillity above the LM Eagle's thruster just after humanity's historic first lunar landing.
Moments earlier, Armstrong had piloted Eagle to a safe landing, skilfully avoiding hazardous craters with almost no fuel left. He then radioed one of the most famous messages in history: "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." Mission Control's Charles Duke responded with palpable relief: "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again." (see mission transcript)
Soon after, Armstrong would become the first human to set foot on the Moon.
Part of a panoramic sequence, this image was taken with the Hasselblad EVA camera, featuring a 60mm Zeiss-Biogon lens and B&W magazine 39/Q, with the now-iconic reseau crosses. NASA did not release this image—or any from magazine 39/Q—after the mission.
"In my view, the emotional moment was the landing. That was human contact with the Moon, the landing."
— Neil Armstrong (Chaikin, Voices, p. 58)
Printed 1969.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS11-39-5747].
Numbered "NASA AS11-39-5747" in right margin (issued by NASA / United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
This exceptionally rare photograph was taken by Neil Armstrong from his LM Commander window, capturing the horizon of the Sea of Tranquillity above the LM Eagle's thruster just after humanity's historic first lunar landing.
Moments earlier, Armstrong had piloted Eagle to a safe landing, skilfully avoiding hazardous craters with almost no fuel left. He then radioed one of the most famous messages in history: "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." Mission Control's Charles Duke responded with palpable relief: "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again." (see mission transcript)
Soon after, Armstrong would become the first human to set foot on the Moon.
Part of a panoramic sequence, this image was taken with the Hasselblad EVA camera, featuring a 60mm Zeiss-Biogon lens and B&W magazine 39/Q, with the now-iconic reseau crosses. NASA did not release this image—or any from magazine 39/Q—after the mission.
"In my view, the emotional moment was the landing. That was human contact with the Moon, the landing."
— Neil Armstrong (Chaikin, Voices, p. 58)
Footnotes
During their time on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin had three photographic magazines: two colour (37/R and 40/S) and one B&W (39/Q). They also used two Hasselblad cameras, each serving a distinct purpose:
Intra-Vehicular Camera (IVA): A black Hasselblad 500EL equipped with an 80mm Zeiss lens, intended for use inside the Lunar Module. Unlike the EVA camera, it lacked a reseau plate, meaning images taken with it did not feature the grid of crosses.
Extra-Vehicular Camera (EVA): A silver Hasselblad EL Data Camera, designed for external lunar surface photography. It was fitted with a reseau plate, ensuring the five-by-five grid of crosses appeared on all historic EVA images.
This distinction between the two cameras explains why some of the most famous Moon photographs include reseau crosses, while others—like those taken inside the LM—do not.
From the mission transcript just after landing:
102:45:40 Aldrin: Contact Light.
102:45:43 Armstrong: Shutdown
102:45:44 Aldrin: Okay. Engine Stop.
102:45:45 Aldrin: ACA out of Detent.
102:45:46 Armstrong: Out of Detent. Auto.
102:45:47 Aldrin: Mode Control, both Auto. Descent Engine Command Override, Off. Engine Arm, Off. 413 is in.
102:45:57 Duke (Mission Control): We copy you down, Eagle.
102:45:58 Armstrong: Engine arm is off. (Pause) Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed.
102:46:06 Duke: Roger, Twan... (correcting himself) Tranquillity. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.
102:46:16 Aldrin: Thank you.
Watch more
CLICK HERE: APOLLO 11 LUNAR MISSION NASA HISTORIC FILM "THE EAGLE HAS LANDED" 72912