278. [Apollo 11] GHOSTLY MOONSCAPES FROM THE SPACECRAFT ON ITS THIRD ORBIT (four photos) Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, or Neil Armstrong, 16-24 July 1969 Printed 1969. Four vintage gelatin silver prints on fibre-based paper [NASA images AS11-42-6285, AS11-42-6293, AS11-42-6318 and AS11-42-6324]. Numbered "NASA AS11-42-6285", "NASA AS11-42-6293", "NASA AS11-42-6318" and "NASA AS11-42-6324" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas). Each: 25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.) Historical context The Moon through a new lens: Apollo 11's unseen views from magazine 42/U. These exceptionally rare photographs were taken using the powerful 250mm telephoto lens of the Hasselblad 500 EL, equipped with B&W magazine 42/U, during Apollo 11's third orbit around the Moon. As the Command Module Columbia traveled westward in an equatorial plane, transitioning from the farside to the nearside, the astronauts captured these remarkable images—many of which were never released by NASA. Magazine 42/U was exclusively used in lunar orbit, and most of its images were taken as targets of opportunity by the astronauts, who observed the Moon's alien landscape with awe. These photographs are more than scientific records—they are a testament to the spirit of exploration, revealing landscapes never before seen by human eyes and capturing the stark beauty and mystery of the Moon. First photograph: A fresh, bright-rayed crater located between Craters Saenger and Erro on the farside, just east of Smyth's Sea (4.5° N / 101.5° E), as the spacecraft approached the eastern limb of the Moon. One of the rare photographs from magazine 42/U that was later released by NASA. Second photograph: The bright-rayed crater Sharonov, positioned along the eastern limb of the Moon at the boundary between the nearside and farside (5.5° S / 90.5° E). Third photograph: Boot Hill near Crater Maskelyne, located on the Sea of Tranquility at the nearside terminator (0.5° N / 30° E). For the astronauts, Boot Hill served as a recognizable landmark on their way to Tranquility Base. Fourth photograph: The 9 km-wide Crater Maskelyne B, situated in the Sea of Tranquility at the nearside terminator (1.5° N / 27° E). From the mission transcript, as Apollo 11 approached the nearside on orbit 3: 080:33:04 Aldrin (onboard): I think it's beautiful. Just fabulous. Not really sure what you're looking at—but there's some mighty big fresh rocks down in that crater. Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): Mark. 10 seconds from predicted time of acquisition. 080:33:37 Aldrin (onboard): The walls actually look pockmarked. Sure enough, and they're not filled in. Pockmarked, and it looks like somebody's painted white paint vertically down the edges, and then it's been eaten away.