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Lot 387
[Apollo 16] MISSION CONTROL WATCHING IN AWE THE LIVE TV VIEW OF EARTH NASA, 16-27 April 1972
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €256 inc. premium
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[Apollo 16] MISSION CONTROL WATCHING IN AWE THE LIVE TV VIEW OF EARTH
NASA, 16-27 April 1972
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-72-35351].
With NASA caption and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-72-35351" 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
Mission Control marvelling at the astronauts' journey through deep space.
Inside the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) at the Mission Control Centre (MCC), engineers and flight controllers watch in awe as Apollo 16 transmits a live television feed of Earth from 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) away. This broadcast occurred three hours and 27 minutes after launch, following the successful docking of the Command Module and Lunar Module en route to the Moon.
On the large TV monitor, Earth appears as a fully illuminated sphere, with two-thirds of the planet visible. The entire North American continent, along with the vibrant reds of the deserts and the blues of the Great Lakes, can be seen—a breathtaking view described in real-time by Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly:
"I bet it's good, but you just can't believe how beautiful it is. See the reds in the desert down there and the Southern United States and northern part of Mexico. And from here, you see the Great Lakes and the State of Florida out there. And it's just absolutely something."
—Ken Mattingly (Mission transcript, 003:27:17 GET)
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-72-35351].
With NASA caption and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-72-35351" 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
Mission Control marvelling at the astronauts' journey through deep space.
Inside the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) at the Mission Control Centre (MCC), engineers and flight controllers watch in awe as Apollo 16 transmits a live television feed of Earth from 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) away. This broadcast occurred three hours and 27 minutes after launch, following the successful docking of the Command Module and Lunar Module en route to the Moon.
On the large TV monitor, Earth appears as a fully illuminated sphere, with two-thirds of the planet visible. The entire North American continent, along with the vibrant reds of the deserts and the blues of the Great Lakes, can be seen—a breathtaking view described in real-time by Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly:
"I bet it's good, but you just can't believe how beautiful it is. See the reds in the desert down there and the Southern United States and northern part of Mexico. And from here, you see the Great Lakes and the State of Florida out there. And it's just absolutely something."
—Ken Mattingly (Mission transcript, 003:27:17 GET)
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
003:25:26 Duke: Houston, before we turn the TV off, we gon - we want to give you a picture of the Earth. [...]
003:27:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): That view of Earth from a distance of 7,500 nautical miles [13,890 km].
003:26:40 Fullerton (Mission Control): Very nice picture, Charlie. We can see Southwestern United States, Lower California. Very nice.
003:26:50 Duke: Good. Ken's doing all that good work for you. It's out his window.
003:27:10 Mattingly: Gordon, is that colour okay for you?
003:27:13 Fullerton: Very nice, Ken. Beautiful colour.
003:27:17 Mattingly: I bet it's good, but you just can't believe how beautiful it is. See the reds in the desert down there and the Southern United States and northern part of Mexico. And from here, you see the Great Lakes and the State of Florida out there. And it's just absolutely something. We're going to go back to work, but thought you'd enjoy that.
003:27:37 Fullerton: Thank you for the picture. It's the next best thing to being up there.