209. [Apollo 10] 'FANTASTIC' VIEW OF CSM CHARLIE BROWN, THE FIRST SPACECRAFT EVER PHOTOGRAPHED ABOVE ANOTHER WORLD, OVER THE MOON'S FARSIDE Eugene Cernan, 18-26 May 1969 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS10-27-3875]. With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA / North American Rockwell, Downey, California). (North American Rockwell was NASA's prime contractor for the Apollo Command and Service Modules) 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context When the crew captured this photo, they knew it would be spectacular, with Stafford exclaiming, 'You really make a beautiful background against the Moon down there, John,' while Cernan enthused, "I'll tell you, John, these pictures of you against that Moon ought to be fantastic!" Glistening in the sunlight, reflecting the Moon in bright metal as yet undarkened by the savage heat of atmospheric re-entry, the Apollo 10 Command Module ghosts silently within a few yards of its Lunar Module, occupied by Gene Cernan and Tom Stafford. John Young is alone in the Command Module at this point. The background is the far side of the Moon, about 60 miles down. (Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (NASA SP-350), Cortright, ed.) From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 098:25:31 Stafford (Snoopy): Yes, now we're getting in pretty good shape, babe. You really make a beautiful background against the Moon down there, John. 098:25:41 Cernan (Snoopy): I'll tell you, John, these pictures of you against that Moon ought to be fantastic. Literature Time, 6 June 1969, p. 66 (variant) Apollo expeditions to the Moon, Cortright, ed. (NASA SP-350), p. 197