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Lot 325
[Apollo 13] STRIKING NEARLY FULL MOON AS THE PERILOUS JOURNEY BACK TO EARTH BEGINS Jack Swigert or Fred Haise, 11–17 April 1970
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €486.40 inc. premium
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[Apollo 13] STRIKING NEARLY FULL MOON AS THE PERILOUS JOURNEY BACK TO EARTH BEGINS
Jack Swigert or Fred Haise, 11–17 April 1970
Printed 1970.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA AS13-60-8709].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS13-60-8709" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.).
Historical context
This magnificent photograph, taken from the lifeboat LM Aquarius during the incredible voyage of Apollo 13, captures the nearly full Moon in breathtaking clarity. Shot with the Hasselblad 500 EL equipped with the 250mm telephoto lens, the image was taken when the spacecraft was approximately 11,500 nautical miles from the Moon. At the top right of the image, the terminator (the dividing line between lunar day and night) highlights Craters Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus, adding depth and contrast to this celestial scene.
Between December 1968 and December 1972, only 24 Apollo astronauts—including the Apollo 13 crew—had the privilege of witnessing the entire globe of the Moon from this unique perspective, a view that no human on Earth has ever seen with the naked eye.
Printed 1970.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA AS13-60-8709].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS13-60-8709" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.).
Historical context
This magnificent photograph, taken from the lifeboat LM Aquarius during the incredible voyage of Apollo 13, captures the nearly full Moon in breathtaking clarity. Shot with the Hasselblad 500 EL equipped with the 250mm telephoto lens, the image was taken when the spacecraft was approximately 11,500 nautical miles from the Moon. At the top right of the image, the terminator (the dividing line between lunar day and night) highlights Craters Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus, adding depth and contrast to this celestial scene.
Between December 1968 and December 1972, only 24 Apollo astronauts—including the Apollo 13 crew—had the privilege of witnessing the entire globe of the Moon from this unique perspective, a view that no human on Earth has ever seen with the naked eye.
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
081:42:27 Swigert: Gad, there's Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus.
081:42:30 Haise: Yes, sure enough.
081:42:32 Swigert: See them right over the edge. [Long pause.]
081:43:11 Swigert: Here, let me shoot a few pictures of the old Moon here. [...]
081:45:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): This is Apollo Control, Houston; at 81 hours, 45 minutes now into the flight. Apollo 13 presently 11,587 nautical miles [21,459 km] away from the Moon and travelling at a velocity of 4,600 feet per second [1,402 m/s].