MAN’S FIRST LOOK AT EARTH FROM THE MOON

LUNAR ORBITER I. The First Image of the Earth from the Vicinity of the Moon, 23 August 1966.

Diptych of two large vintage silver gelatin contact prints joined together, 48 1/2 x 16 7/8 in. (123.2 x 42.9 cm.), matted; 47 9/16 x 25 3/4 in. (120.8 x 65.4 cm.), framed.

This remarkable photograph preserves one of the foundational images of the Space Age: the first photograph of the Earth made by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. Taken by Lunar Orbiter I on 23 August 1966 during the spacecraft’s 16th orbit, and received at NASA’s tracking station at Robledo de Chavela near Madrid, the image shows the Earth rising above the stark curve of the lunar horizon in a composition of extraordinary formal economy and historical force.

Launched on 10 August 1966 and inserted into lunar orbit four days later, Lunar Orbiter I became the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Its primary mission was to photograph candidate Apollo landing sites and to return the most detailed orbital views of the lunar surface yet obtained. The celebrated Earth view was not part of the original imaging program, but resulted from a temporary reorientation of the spacecraft after technical issues with the photographic system prompted mission controllers to acquire additional, unplanned exposures.

The mission’s camera system, developed by Eastman Kodak, exposed film aboard the spacecraft, processed it in flight, and scanned the negatives for electronic transmission back to Earth, where the signals were reconstructed as photographs. The present joined silver gelatin contact prints therefore preserve not only a momentous subject, but also the hybrid mechanical and electronic process by which some of the earliest space photographs were made. Their elongated format heightens the drama of the cratered lunar foreground and the small, luminous Earth suspended against the blackness of space.

Predating Apollo 8’s far more widely disseminated color Earthrise photograph by more than two years, Lunar Orbiter I’s austere black-and-white view marked a decisive shift in humanity’s visual understanding of its place in the cosmos. NASA later noted that the image was warmly received by scientists and the public alike, and the spacecraft repeated the photograph two days later.

The present work occupies a central place in the photographic history of the Space Age.

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio. 

[NASA, Space Exploration, Apollo Program] [Aviation, History of Flight, Airplanes, Aeronautics, Aeronautical Engineering, Aerospace]