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Lot 267
[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN COLLECTING FINAL SAMPLES AT TRANQUILLITY BASE BEFORE RETURNING TO EAGLE FOR LIFTOFF Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €1,024 inc. premium
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[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN COLLECTING FINAL SAMPLES AT TRANQUILLITY BASE BEFORE RETURNING TO EAGLE FOR LIFTOFF
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5964].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS11-40-5964" in red in the top margin, originally laminated, (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
The rare final photograph of a human standing on the Moon during humanity's first exploration of another world. The last EVA activity before re-entering the LM Eagle for liftoff was to extract core samples from the lunar surface—Aldrin is seen hammering a core tube into the regolith, with the hammer in his hand. Just beyond the tube, the deployed Solar Wind Collector is visible.
During this first visit to the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin remained within about 100 meters of the LM, collected 47 pounds of samples, and deployed four scientific experiments. The EVA lasted 2 hours and 31 minutes, concluding at 1:11:13 a.m. EDT on July 21, 1969.
"There were a lot of things to do, and we had a hard time getting them finished. We had very little trouble, much less trouble than expected, on the surface. It was a pleasant operation. Temperatures weren't high. They were very comfortable. The little EMU, the combination of spacesuit and backpack that sustained our life on the surface, operated magnificently. The primary difficulty was just far too little time to do the variety of things we would have liked. We had the problem of the five-year-old boy in a candy store."
Neil Armstrong (NASA SP-350, p. 11)
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-40-5964].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS11-40-5964" in red in the top margin, originally laminated, (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
The rare final photograph of a human standing on the Moon during humanity's first exploration of another world. The last EVA activity before re-entering the LM Eagle for liftoff was to extract core samples from the lunar surface—Aldrin is seen hammering a core tube into the regolith, with the hammer in his hand. Just beyond the tube, the deployed Solar Wind Collector is visible.
During this first visit to the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin remained within about 100 meters of the LM, collected 47 pounds of samples, and deployed four scientific experiments. The EVA lasted 2 hours and 31 minutes, concluding at 1:11:13 a.m. EDT on July 21, 1969.
"There were a lot of things to do, and we had a hard time getting them finished. We had very little trouble, much less trouble than expected, on the surface. It was a pleasant operation. Temperatures weren't high. They were very comfortable. The little EMU, the combination of spacesuit and backpack that sustained our life on the surface, operated magnificently. The primary difficulty was just far too little time to do the variety of things we would have liked. We had the problem of the five-year-old boy in a candy store."
Neil Armstrong (NASA SP-350, p. 11)
Footnotes
Literature
National Geographic, December 1969, p. 768 (variant)
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 58
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 Moonwalk Part 3 of 4