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![[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT AT CAMELOT CRATER, STATION 5 Eugene Cernan, 7–19 December 1972, EVA 2 image 1](/_next/image.jpg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg1.bonhams.com%2Fimage%3Fsrc%3DImages%2Flive%2F2025-03%2F24%2F25639331-414-1.jpg&w=2400&q=75)
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Lot 434
[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT AT CAMELOT CRATER, STATION 5 Eugene Cernan, 7–19 December 1972, EVA 2
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €256 inc. premium
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[Apollo 17] HARRISON SCHMITT AT CAMELOT CRATER, STATION 5
Eugene Cernan, 7–19 December 1972, EVA 2
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on early resin coated Kodak paper [NASA image AS17-145-22157].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
A lunar knight at Camelot Crater
Harrison Schmitt is seen collecting a lunar sample with the scoop near a field of boulders on the rim of Camelot Crater. At 650 metres wide, Camelot was the largest crater explored by the Apollo 17 crew. The boulders in the foreground were ejected from underlying lava flows by the impact that formed Camelot approximately 70 million years ago.
While exploring the Moon's surface, the astronauts had to battle the relentless grip of lunar dust. Schmitt's spacesuit, coated in fine, clingy moondust, bears the unmistakable marks of extended exploration. This ever-present dust not only dirtied their suits but also darkened them, creating a significant challenge. Unlike Earth, where the atmosphere filters the Sun's intensity, on the Moon there was nowhere to escape the raw, undiminished solar power—except inside a spacesuit.
The astronauts relied on their Portable Life Support System (PLSS) to circulate water and keep them cool. However, as lunar dust accumulated, their suits absorbed more sunlight, increasing the risk of overheating and rapidly depleting their water supply. To counteract this, Cernan and Schmitt regularly brushed each other off to prevent their suits from trapping too much heat—ensuring they didn't overheat like a car left in the summer sun.
Printed 1972.
Vintage chromogenic print on early resin coated Kodak paper [NASA image AS17-145-22157].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)
Historical context
A lunar knight at Camelot Crater
Harrison Schmitt is seen collecting a lunar sample with the scoop near a field of boulders on the rim of Camelot Crater. At 650 metres wide, Camelot was the largest crater explored by the Apollo 17 crew. The boulders in the foreground were ejected from underlying lava flows by the impact that formed Camelot approximately 70 million years ago.
While exploring the Moon's surface, the astronauts had to battle the relentless grip of lunar dust. Schmitt's spacesuit, coated in fine, clingy moondust, bears the unmistakable marks of extended exploration. This ever-present dust not only dirtied their suits but also darkened them, creating a significant challenge. Unlike Earth, where the atmosphere filters the Sun's intensity, on the Moon there was nowhere to escape the raw, undiminished solar power—except inside a spacesuit.
The astronauts relied on their Portable Life Support System (PLSS) to circulate water and keep them cool. However, as lunar dust accumulated, their suits absorbed more sunlight, increasing the risk of overheating and rapidly depleting their water supply. To counteract this, Cernan and Schmitt regularly brushed each other off to prevent their suits from trapping too much heat—ensuring they didn't overheat like a car left in the summer sun.
Footnotes
From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:
146:46:23 Schmitt: Let me get over here and try to get one bag of soil that's away from the boulder.
146:46:36 Cernan: I'm going to get my "after" (picture) while I'm here.
146:46:38 Parker (Mission Control): Okay, 17...
146:46:40 Schmitt: (To Gene) Could you... (Hearing Bob) Could you...
146:46:41 Parker: Roger. And the present time, we drop the rake soil, we'd just like to get the kilogram of soil somewhere between the boulders - (in) as open (a location) as you can.
146:46:51 Schmitt: (Is) my scoop in that (picture)?
Literature
Voices from the Moon, Chaikin, p. 82