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Lot 386
[Apollo 16] BREATHTAKING VIEW OF THE NEARLY FULL PLANET EARTH Ken Mattingly, 16-27 April 1972
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche€1,500 - €2,000
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[Apollo 16] BREATHTAKING VIEW OF THE NEARLY FULL PLANET EARTH
Ken Mattingly, 16-27 April 1972
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA AS16-118-18880].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS16-118-18880" 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
A nearly full planet hanging in the void. While Apollo 17 remains the only mission to capture a fully illuminated Earth, this Apollo 16 image stands among the most striking views of our home world ever taken in deep space.
Captured from 9,000 nautical miles (16,662 km) away, this stunning photograph of Earth was taken approximately one hour after translunar injection, following the successful transposition and docking of the Command and Lunar Modules but before the extraction of the Lunar Module from the Saturn V's S-IVB third stage.
Most of North and Central America is clearly visible, with the nearly full planet bathed in sunlight. The terminator—the dividing line between night and day—appears along the right edge, adding depth to this awe-inspiring perspective.
Reflecting on this unforgettable sight, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke later recalled:
"The Earth is the most beautiful sight in space, with all its colours of lands, seas, and clouds. Looking at it against the blackness of space was almost a religious experience for me."
—Charles Duke (National Geographic, December 1972, p. 865)
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA AS16-118-18880].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS16-118-18880" 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
A nearly full planet hanging in the void. While Apollo 17 remains the only mission to capture a fully illuminated Earth, this Apollo 16 image stands among the most striking views of our home world ever taken in deep space.
Captured from 9,000 nautical miles (16,662 km) away, this stunning photograph of Earth was taken approximately one hour after translunar injection, following the successful transposition and docking of the Command and Lunar Modules but before the extraction of the Lunar Module from the Saturn V's S-IVB third stage.
Most of North and Central America is clearly visible, with the nearly full planet bathed in sunlight. The terminator—the dividing line between night and day—appears along the right edge, adding depth to this awe-inspiring perspective.
Reflecting on this unforgettable sight, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke later recalled:
"The Earth is the most beautiful sight in space, with all its colours of lands, seas, and clouds. Looking at it against the blackness of space was almost a religious experience for me."
—Charles Duke (National Geographic, December 1972, p. 865)
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
003:36:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission control): This is Apollo Control, Houston, at 3 hours, 36 minutes Ground Elapsed Time. We presently show Apollo 16 at a distance of 8,997 nautical miles [16,662 km] away from the Earth. Velocity now reading 18,818 feet [5,736 m] per second. Very little conversation with the crew at this time as they are in the process of removing the tunnel hatch and going through their check list prior to separation and ejection of the Lunar Module.
Literature
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, December 1972, pp. 864-865
TIME, 15 May 1972, p. 60
Full Moon, Light, plate 117
Voices from the Moon, Chaikin, p. 170