James Irwin, July 26 - August 7, 1971, EVA 3
Printed 1971.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS15-82-11168].
Numbered "NASA AS15-82-11168" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
A final photography stop to immortalize Hadley's grandeur.
This photograph, part of a panoramic sequence taken by James Irwin at Station 10, shows David Scott with the Hasselblad 500mm telephoto camera at the last stop of the mission dedicated solely to photography. Positioned on the north rim of the 45-meter-wide "Rim Crater," on the edge of Hadley Canyon, Scott was preparing to capture high-resolution images of its breathtaking landscape before returning to the Lunar Module Falcon for EVA closeout and liftoff, 1.8 km to the east.
The canyon's edge is visible in the left background, while behind Scott, the Lunar Rover stands ready, its high-gain antenna pointed toward Earth, transmitting the scene in real time to Mission Control.
Reflecting on the mission's relentless pace, Scott later spoke of the overwhelming excitement of lunar exploration and the desire to see and do more:
"I was surprised that time went so fast. We never had enough time. And, boy, we had trained to make sure we were efficient. And when we got there, we never had enough time to explore a site like we would have liked to. Because it was so exciting. There was so much there. And you just wanted more and more and more and more..."
—David Scott (Chaikin, Voices, p. 96)