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Lot 349
[APOLLO 14] EDGAR MITCHELL LOST ON THE MOON Alan Shepard, 31 January - 9 February 1971, EVA 2
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €1,024 inc. premium
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[APOLLO 14] EDGAR MITCHELL LOST ON THE MOON
Alan Shepard, 31 January - 9 February 1971, EVA 2
Printed 1971.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS14-64-9089].
Blank on the reverse (issued by NASA).
25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.)
Historical context
Lost in the Lunar Wasteland—Edgar Mitchell Navigates the Unknown
This iconic photograph, a frame from the panorama taken by Alan Shepard at Station B1—645 metres east-northeast of the LM Antares—captures Edgar Mitchell consulting a traverse map as he struggles to pinpoint their location. The undulating terrain of Fra Mauro, with its deceptively smooth hills rising over ten feet high, obscured key landmarks, making navigation toward Cone Crater unexpectedly difficult.
Lunar dust clings to Mitchell's boots and legs, evidence of the gruelling trek.
This image—symbolic of the Apollo 14 traverse as a whole—remains one of the most evocative photographs of the Apollo program. (ALSJ caption for AS14-64-9089)
"The one thing that was a surprise was, we couldn't navigate like we thought we could, because the dunes were much higher. And you couldn't see where you were. You'd lose the LM when you went down into a depression, and trying to navigate up to Cone Crater we had very precise points laid out to get to, and we were never sure whether we were near one of them or not [...] within ten yards of it or exactly on top of it. Or whether it was over in the next valley."
—Edgar Mitchell (Chaikin, Voices, p. 94)
Printed 1971.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS14-64-9089].
Blank on the reverse (issued by NASA).
25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.)
Historical context
Lost in the Lunar Wasteland—Edgar Mitchell Navigates the Unknown
This iconic photograph, a frame from the panorama taken by Alan Shepard at Station B1—645 metres east-northeast of the LM Antares—captures Edgar Mitchell consulting a traverse map as he struggles to pinpoint their location. The undulating terrain of Fra Mauro, with its deceptively smooth hills rising over ten feet high, obscured key landmarks, making navigation toward Cone Crater unexpectedly difficult.
Lunar dust clings to Mitchell's boots and legs, evidence of the gruelling trek.
This image—symbolic of the Apollo 14 traverse as a whole—remains one of the most evocative photographs of the Apollo program. (ALSJ caption for AS14-64-9089)
"The one thing that was a surprise was, we couldn't navigate like we thought we could, because the dunes were much higher. And you couldn't see where you were. You'd lose the LM when you went down into a depression, and trying to navigate up to Cone Crater we had very precise points laid out to get to, and we were never sure whether we were near one of them or not [...] within ten yards of it or exactly on top of it. Or whether it was over in the next valley."
—Edgar Mitchell (Chaikin, Voices, p. 94)
Footnotes
EVA-2 was planned as a geological traverse to collect samples from the rim of Cone Crater, believed to expose deep lunar material. But as they pressed forward, Shepard and Mitchell found themselves disoriented, unable to confirm whether they were precisely on course or mere yards from their intended checkpoints.
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
132:48:09 Mitchell: Why don't we pull up beside this big crater.
132:48:12 Shepard: Okay.
132:48:13 Mitchell: Take a break, get the map, and see if we can find out exactly where we are. Press on from there. This one should be distinctive enough.
132:48:19 Haise (Mission Control): And, Al and Ed. While you're stopped here, we could use a photo pan.
132:48:28 Mitchell: Yeah, going to suggest that. (Pause) If you'll take the pan, Al, I'll grab the map and get over here and see if we can find...
Literature
TIME, 22 February 1971, p. 44
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 94
Space: A History of Space Exploration in Photographs, Chaikin, p. 117
Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, p. 157
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed., p. 242
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Apollo 14 Mission To Fra Mauro (1971)