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[Gemini IV] EARTH FROM SPACE: Gulf of California, mouth of the Colorado River Ed White, 3-7 June 1965 image 1
[Gemini IV] EARTH FROM SPACE: Gulf of California, mouth of the Colorado River Ed White, 3-7 June 1965 image 2
[Gemini IV] EARTH FROM SPACE: Gulf of California, mouth of the Colorado River Ed White, 3-7 June 1965 image 3
Lot 72

[Gemini IV] EARTH FROM SPACE: Gulf of California, mouth of the Colorado River
Ed White, 3-7 June 1965

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

€500 - €700

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[Gemini IV] EARTH FROM SPACE: Gulf of California, mouth of the Colorado River

Ed White, 3-7 June 1965

Printed 1965.

Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-65-34673].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
This striking Gemini IV photograph captures the mouth of the Colorado River as it meets the Sea, vividly showcasing the natural interplay between land, water, and desert from orbit. By capturing Earth's landscapes in their entirety, Gemini missions laid the groundwork for Earth science studies, fostering a deeper understanding of our planet's interconnected systems but also creating news images of sublime abstract beauty. The photograph represents the dawning realization of Earth's fragility and beauty, as viewed from the unique vantage point of space, sparking a shift in environmental awareness and a new appreciation for the planet we call home.

Footnotes

The image, taken by astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White during their four-day mission in June 1965, was part of the Synoptic Terrain Photography experiments led by NASA geologist Dr. Paul D. Lowman Jr. from the Goddard Space Flight Centre, aiming to obtain high-quality photographs of large land areas already mapped by aerial surveys.
This stunning perspective, with Baja California on the left and Sonora, Mexico, on the right, highlights the region's intricate geography, including the river's silt deposits and the surrounding desert. The Great Sonoran Desert appears as a large reddish area, and the white feature to the right of the Colorado River marks a fault of the San Andreas system.
The photograph was captured during a photographic sequence at 5-second intervals using a modified 70mm Hasselblad 500C camera with Eastman colour film (ASA 64) and a lens setting of 1/250th of a second at f/11.

From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken:

050:20:22 White: We're going to run our first real S-6 now, rather S-5 (photo experiment), which will be a series of 35 photographs on the 32nd Rev, coming over the Western part of the United States. They will be done at 5-second intervals.

Literature
National Geographic, November 1966, pp. 644-645
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography 1962-1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 12
Earth Photographs from Gemini III, IV and V, NASA SP-129, p. 59
Exploring Space with a Camera (NASA SP-168), Cortright, ed., p. 145

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