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Lot 93
[Gemini VII] FIRST MOONRISE: first photograph of the Moon rising over the Earth taken from space by humans James Lovell or Frank Borman, 4-18 December 1965
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €1,664 inc. premium
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[Gemini VII] FIRST MOONRISE: first photograph of the Moon rising over the Earth taken from space by humans
James Lovell or Frank Borman, 4-18 December 1965
Printed 1965.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image NASA S-65-63872].
Numbered "NASA S-65-63872" in red in the top margin, 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
A major milestone of space photography. During their historic 14-day mission in space on board Gemini VII, Frank Borman and James Lovell were the first humans to bring back photographs of the Moon rising over the Earth as seen from space. Here, the full Moon is rising over the Indian Ocean. This fantastic Moonrise would only be surpassed by the extraordinary Earthrise Borman and Lovell would photograph three years later on Apollo 8.
"Once the Apollo program was under way, it dawned on me that soon somebody was going to be taking a picture of the Earth from the Moon, so I took this picture of the Moon. When we got there on Apollo 8, we took the Earthrise photograph; they were like before-and-after pictures."
James Lovell (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 5)
Printed 1965.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image NASA S-65-63872].
Numbered "NASA S-65-63872" in red in the top margin, 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
A major milestone of space photography. During their historic 14-day mission in space on board Gemini VII, Frank Borman and James Lovell were the first humans to bring back photographs of the Moon rising over the Earth as seen from space. Here, the full Moon is rising over the Indian Ocean. This fantastic Moonrise would only be surpassed by the extraordinary Earthrise Borman and Lovell would photograph three years later on Apollo 8.
"Once the Apollo program was under way, it dawned on me that soon somebody was going to be taking a picture of the Earth from the Moon, so I took this picture of the Moon. When we got there on Apollo 8, we took the Earthrise photograph; they were like before-and-after pictures."
James Lovell (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 5)
Footnotes
The shot was taken by Lovell with a 70mm handheld Hasselblad 500 C camera and its 80mm lens, using Kodak (SO217 medium) speed film.
"The Moon varied greatly during the 2 weeks of flight. Jim [Lovell] took this picture of the full Moon as a symbol of our next goal in manned space flight, the lunar landing. I think it also dramatizes the difference between mere orbital flight and the future adventures that will take Man a quarter of a million miles into the ocean of space."
Frank Borman (Cortright, p. 155)
"Here Borman and Lovell are looking at the full Moon they'd be taking close-ups of three years later."
Richard Underwood, NASA chief of photography (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 55)
Literature
LIFE, 7 January 1966, pp. 24-25
Moon, man's greatest adventure, Thomas, pp. 118-119
The View from Space, Schick and Van Haaften, p.55
Exploring space with a camera, Cortright, ed., p. 155
Watch more
CLICK HERE: Proud Conquest GEMINI VI & VII (1965) - NASA documentary - First Spacecraft Rendezvous - Jim Lovell
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