Lot no. 215
215. [Apollo 10] COVER OF LIFE: LM Snoopy barnstorming the Moon
John Young, 18-26 May 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS10-34-5108].
Numbered "NASA AS10-34-5108" 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
This iconic Apollo 10 photograph, famously featured on the cover of LIFE magazine, captures Lunar Module Snoopy soaring above the cratered lunar surface after humanity's first piloted descent toward another world.
Taken by John Young from Command Module Charlie Brown, the image provides an extraordinary view of the fragile, spindly LM as it navigates just above the Moon's rugged terrain—a sight never before witnessed.
Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan flew Snoopy to within 9 miles of the Moon's surface testing systems and procedures. Then they jettisoned the LM's descent stage and returned to meet the CSM Charlie Brown in higher lunar orbit at an altitude of about 60 nautical miles.
The photograph was taken with the Hasselblad 500EL equipped with an 80mm lens over the 64-km Crater Gregory (top right) and its surrounding area to the southeast on the lunar far side (latitude: 1° N / 130° E). The red/blue diagonal line is the Command Module's window.
Literature
LIFE magazine, Barnstorming the Moon, 6 June 1969, cover
Pictures credits: Contact organization
Photographs and film
About the sale04/28/2025
Catalog
FOR ALL MANKIND THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
75008 Paris - France