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Lot 255
[Apollo 11] A HUMAN AND HIS SPACECRAFT ON ANOTHER WORLD: Buzz Aldrin beside LM Eagle at Tranquillity Base Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €1,920 inc. premium
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[Apollo 11] A HUMAN AND HIS SPACECRAFT ON ANOTHER WORLD: Buzz Aldrin beside LM Eagle at Tranquillity Base
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5927].
Numbered "NASA AS11-40-5927" 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
Humanity's arrival on a previously untouched world.
This extraordinary photograph captures the essence of exploration, technology, and human achievement as the Lunar Module Eagle stands proudly on the Moon's surface. Taken by Neil Armstrong from a position approximately 10 meters east-southeast, Buzz Aldrin is seen preparing to remove the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP) from the left-hand compartment of the Scientific Equipment (SEQ) bay. The Solar Wind Collector and TV camera are visible in the right background, while scattered footprints mark the foreground.
"Our LM was sitting there with its black, silver and bright yellow orange thermal coating shining brightly in the otherwise colourless landscape. I had seen Neil in his suit thousands of times before, but on the Moon the unnatural whiteness of it seemed unusually brilliant."
—Buzz Aldrin (NASA SP-350, p. 11)
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5927].
Numbered "NASA AS11-40-5927" 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
Humanity's arrival on a previously untouched world.
This extraordinary photograph captures the essence of exploration, technology, and human achievement as the Lunar Module Eagle stands proudly on the Moon's surface. Taken by Neil Armstrong from a position approximately 10 meters east-southeast, Buzz Aldrin is seen preparing to remove the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP) from the left-hand compartment of the Scientific Equipment (SEQ) bay. The Solar Wind Collector and TV camera are visible in the right background, while scattered footprints mark the foreground.
"Our LM was sitting there with its black, silver and bright yellow orange thermal coating shining brightly in the otherwise colourless landscape. I had seen Neil in his suit thousands of times before, but on the Moon the unnatural whiteness of it seemed unusually brilliant."
—Buzz Aldrin (NASA SP-350, p. 11)
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
110:52:57 Aldrin: Can you see us underneath the LM over at the SEQ bay, Houston?
110:53:00 McCandless (Mission Control): Yes indeed, Buzz. We can see your feet sticking out underneath the structure of the LM descent stage.
110:53:08 Aldrin: Okay. I'm just on the other side of the...
110:53:13 McCandless: Now we can see you (actually Armstrong)...
110:53:14 Aldrin: ...of the Solar Wind.
110:53:14 McCandless: ...through the structure of the minus-Z (east) secondary strut. (Pause)
110:53:38 Aldrin: All right. The doors (of the SEQ Bay) are open, and it looks like they are going to stay up without any problem.
Literature
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., p. 217
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 Moonwalk Part 3 of 4