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Lot 378
[Apollo 15] THE CSM ENDEAVOUR WITH EXPOSED SIM BAY ABOVE THE SEA OF FERTILITY James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €358.40 inc. premium
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[Apollo 15] THE CSM ENDEAVOUR WITH EXPOSED SIM BAY ABOVE THE SEA OF FERTILITY
James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971
Printed 1971.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS15-88-11972].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS15-88-11972" 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
Rendezvous over the Moon.
Captured by James Irwin from the window of the LM Falcon shortly after its ascent from the Moon, this remarkable photograph showcases the Command and Service Module Endeavour in lunar orbit with its exposed SIM (Scientific Instrument Module) bay during the critical rendezvous before the crew's return to Earth.
At this moment, Endeavour, piloted solo by Alfred Worden, was completing its 49th orbit, flying 115 km above the northeastern shore of the Sea of Fertility (7° N / 48.5° E). As part of the manoeuvre, Worden pitched the spacecraft nose-down toward the Moon, allowing Scott and Irwin in Falcon to inspect and photograph the SIM bay—used for the first time on Apollo 15—before Worden later conducted history's first deep-space EVA to retrieve film cassettes from its panoramic cameras.
The photograph was taken with the 60mm lens of the lunar surface Hasselblad 500 EL Data Camera.
Printed 1971.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS15-88-11972].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS15-88-11972" 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
Rendezvous over the Moon.
Captured by James Irwin from the window of the LM Falcon shortly after its ascent from the Moon, this remarkable photograph showcases the Command and Service Module Endeavour in lunar orbit with its exposed SIM (Scientific Instrument Module) bay during the critical rendezvous before the crew's return to Earth.
At this moment, Endeavour, piloted solo by Alfred Worden, was completing its 49th orbit, flying 115 km above the northeastern shore of the Sea of Fertility (7° N / 48.5° E). As part of the manoeuvre, Worden pitched the spacecraft nose-down toward the Moon, allowing Scott and Irwin in Falcon to inspect and photograph the SIM bay—used for the first time on Apollo 15—before Worden later conducted history's first deep-space EVA to retrieve film cassettes from its panoramic cameras.
The photograph was taken with the 60mm lens of the lunar surface Hasselblad 500 EL Data Camera.
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
173:15:50 Mitchell (Mission Control): Roger. Dave, during the Command Module pitch around, and we'd like for you to take a look at the V-over-H sensor in the SIM (Scientific Instrument Module) bay, if you can. [...]
173:17:05 Scott: Okay, we'll get a picture of it.
173:17:20 Worden: Okay. I'll go ahead and do your pitch around. [...]
173:19:11 Scott: Hey, it looks good, you're going the right way. [Long pause.]
173:19:37 Mitchell: Dave, while he's pitching, I'll tell you - should be about the middle of the SIM bay by the Mapping Camera. [Long pause.]
173:20:18 Scott: Very nice manoeuvre, Endeavour.
Literature
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, February 1972, p. 249, variant