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Lot 398
[Apollo 16] JOHN YOUNG BEYOND LM ORION AND ROVER AT DESCARTES BASE Charles Duke, 16-27 April 1972, EVA 2
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €384 inc. premium
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[Apollo 16] JOHN YOUNG BEYOND LM ORION AND ROVER AT DESCARTES BASE
Charles Duke, 16-27 April 1972, EVA 2
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS16-107-17436].
With NASA caption and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS16-107-17436" 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 busy base of human exploration on another world.
This superbly composed photograph is a frame from a 360° panoramic sequence of the Descartes landing site, captured by Charles Duke from a position 20 metres NNE of the Lunar Module Orion, facing the 4 o'clock position relative to the hatch.
In the background, John Young is seen beyond the Lunar Rover, just south of the LM shadow, actively collecting lunar samples. To the left, Stone Mountain—rising 500 metres and located 5 kilometres away—forms an imposing backdrop. The parked Lunar Rover stands ready for further exploration, while dark streaks in the foreground—boot prints and Rover tracks—serve as tangible evidence of the astronauts' activity on the untouched lunar terrain.
"This and similar views of the LM, Rover, and our flag were always special. Other than the grey and white of the Moon, this was the only colour. What a contrast to the stark Moon. The landing site that John selected was dead level, so this made the deployment of the Rover and the ALSEP a simple task."
—Charles Duke (Constantine, p. 99)
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS16-107-17436].
With NASA caption and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS16-107-17436" 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 busy base of human exploration on another world.
This superbly composed photograph is a frame from a 360° panoramic sequence of the Descartes landing site, captured by Charles Duke from a position 20 metres NNE of the Lunar Module Orion, facing the 4 o'clock position relative to the hatch.
In the background, John Young is seen beyond the Lunar Rover, just south of the LM shadow, actively collecting lunar samples. To the left, Stone Mountain—rising 500 metres and located 5 kilometres away—forms an imposing backdrop. The parked Lunar Rover stands ready for further exploration, while dark streaks in the foreground—boot prints and Rover tracks—serve as tangible evidence of the astronauts' activity on the untouched lunar terrain.
"This and similar views of the LM, Rover, and our flag were always special. Other than the grey and white of the Moon, this was the only colour. What a contrast to the stark Moon. The landing site that John selected was dead level, so this made the deployment of the Rover and the ALSEP a simple task."
—Charles Duke (Constantine, p. 99)
Footnotes
Below the 'United States' sign on the LM is the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) pallet, a storage area for experiments and tools. A white insulation blanket protects the area from excessive heating and cooling. To the left is a white area with gold-coloured insulation draping to the surface. This is the quad III payload area, a storage area for the far-UV camera/spectrograph, the lunar portable magnetometre, and hand tools. The probes sticking up from the two landing pads are designed to detect LM touchdown on the Moon and then to crush and bend out of the way during the completion of the landing manoeuvre. (NASA SP-315, p. 4.15)
From the mission transcript when the panoramic sequence was taken:
143:13:18 Duke: Okay. The old pan...
143:13:22 Duke: ...starts at f/11 at 250. Okay. Exactly 60 feet to the left, Tony!
143:13:36 England (Mission Control): Okay. (Pause)
143:13:46 Duke: The best pan. (Pause)
143:13:53 Duke: Boy, it sure looks different looking up-Sun. (Pause) You can still see the lineations on Stone Mountain, Tony. In fact, the lineation maybe a little bit more pronounced (with the Sun higher than it was during EVA-1).
Literature
Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report, (NASA SP-315), 1972, pp. 4-15
Apollo: The Panoramas, Constantine, p. 99
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