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Lot 8
[Apollo 15] JAMES IRWIN'S SALUTE AT HADLEY BASE, BESIDE THE LM FALCON AND THE FIRST LUNAR ROVER David Scott, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 3
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €1,152 inc. premium
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[Apollo 15] JAMES IRWIN'S SALUTE AT HADLEY BASE, BESIDE THE LM FALCON AND THE FIRST LUNAR ROVER
David Scott, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 3
Printed 1971.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS15-88-11866].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS15-88-11866" 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 timeless icon: saluting humanity's greatest exploration.
Few Apollo photographs have been reproduced as often as this image of James Irwin saluting the American flag, standing alongside the first Lunar Rover and the Falcon Lunar Module at Hadley Base. Captured at the beginning of EVA 3, this moment was part of a series of "tourist" photographs taken by Irwin and Scott, celebrating their unprecedented mission amid one of the most breathtaking landscapes ever explored by humans.
The imposing slopes of Hadley Delta, rising approximately 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above the plain, form a majestic backdrop, with its base stretching 5 kilometres (3 miles) away. The rugged lunar terrain, framed by mountains and the deep Hadley rille canyon to the west, evoked a profound sense of solitude and wonder in Irwin:
"I felt like I was an alien as I travelled through space. When I got on the Moon, I felt at home. We had mountains on three sides and had the deep canyon to the west, a beautiful spot to camp. I felt in a way Adam and Eve must have felt, as they were standing on the Earth and they realized that they were all alone. I talk about the Moon as a very holy place."
—James Irwin (Kelley, plate 46)
Printed 1971.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS15-88-11866].
With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS15-88-11866" 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 timeless icon: saluting humanity's greatest exploration.
Few Apollo photographs have been reproduced as often as this image of James Irwin saluting the American flag, standing alongside the first Lunar Rover and the Falcon Lunar Module at Hadley Base. Captured at the beginning of EVA 3, this moment was part of a series of "tourist" photographs taken by Irwin and Scott, celebrating their unprecedented mission amid one of the most breathtaking landscapes ever explored by humans.
The imposing slopes of Hadley Delta, rising approximately 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above the plain, form a majestic backdrop, with its base stretching 5 kilometres (3 miles) away. The rugged lunar terrain, framed by mountains and the deep Hadley rille canyon to the west, evoked a profound sense of solitude and wonder in Irwin:
"I felt like I was an alien as I travelled through space. When I got on the Moon, I felt at home. We had mountains on three sides and had the deep canyon to the west, a beautiful spot to camp. I felt in a way Adam and Eve must have felt, as they were standing on the Earth and they realized that they were all alone. I talk about the Moon as a very holy place."
—James Irwin (Kelley, plate 46)
Footnotes
Literature
LIFE, 20 August 1971, p. 28 (variant)
National Geographic, February 1972, pp. 236-237
TIME, 23 August 1971, p. 26
A Man on the Moon: Lunar Explorers, Chaikin, pp. 64-65
Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Reynolds, pp. 186-187.
Watch more
CLICK HERE: TV view from the Lunar Rover when the photograph was taken
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