Lot no. 272
272. [Apollo 11] THE FIRST HUMAN FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON BESIDE EAGLE'S SHADOW: captured from the LM window after humanity's first exploration of another world
Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969
Printed 1969.
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-37-5505].
Numbered "NASA AS11-37-5505" 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
The simplest marks of man's first visit to another world: footprints in the fine Moon dust and the shadow of the spacecraft.
The photograph was captured by Neil Armstrong from his LM Commander window after the EVA. As planned, the lunar surface Hasselblad data camera was not brought back into the cabin at the end of the EVA, so all post-EVA photography by the LM crew was done with the IVA (Intra Vehicular Activity) camera equipped with an 80mm lens. Consequently, the image does not have reseau crosses.
"There are footprints on the moon. Those footprints belong to each and every one of you, to all mankind. They are there because of the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of people. Those footprints are the symbol of true human spirit."
Buzz Aldrin (acceptance speech for the Medal of Freedom, August 13, 1969)
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