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[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 1
[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 2
[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 3
[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 image 4
Lot 254

[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

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[Apollo 11] STRIKING CLOSE-UP OF BUZZ ALDRIN ON THE MOON: setting up scientific equipment at Tranquillity Base

Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969

Printed 1969.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5951].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
One of the most striking photographs of an Apollo astronaut on the Moon—though the top of Aldrin's head is cropped in the frame. Neil Armstrong captured this close-up of Buzz Aldrin as he made final adjustments to the seismometer. Notably, NASA photo editors later added black sky above his helmet to balance the composition.

Armstrong's reflection is visible in Aldrin's gold-plated visor, offering a rare glimpse of the photographer at work. Through the visor, Aldrin's face is clearly distinguishable—one of the few Apollo photographs where an astronaut's face can be seen.

Footnotes

In the foreground, well-defined footprints from the first moonwalkers mark the lunar surface, a testament to humanity's presence on another world. The 35mm stereo Kodak close-up camera and a LM footpad are visible in the right background.

"I think in a physiological sense, humans adapt to that lunar gravity quite well. And in that sense it feels natural very quickly, the ability to move and locomote. In the environmental sense, it's less natural. It's very different than here. But I have no doubt that humans would adapt to it as a home in some reasonably short period of time too."
—Neil Armstrong (Chaikin, Voices, p. 73)

From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:

111:06:34 Aldrin: Houston, as I was facing the PSE (Passive Seismic Experiment), the right-hand solar array deployed automatically. The left-hand I had to manually (garbled) restraining bar at the far end. And all parts of the solar array are clear of the ground now.
111:07:02 McCandless (mission control): Buzz, this is Houston. I understand that you did successfully deploy both solar arrays. Over.
111:07:10 Aldrin: Roger. That's affirmative. (Pause) And there isn't any way of telling whether that's lined up, without getting in the way; maybe I can get down here.
111:07:40 Aldrin: Well, that appears to be pointing.

Literature
LIFE, 11 August 1969
LIFE, 8 August 1969, p. 24
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 59

Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 - For All Mankind (1969)

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