[Apollo 11] LM EAGLE'S SHADOW ON THE SEA OF TRANQUILLITY BEFORE HUMANITY'S FIRST LIFTOFF FROM A...

[Apollo 11] LM EAGLE'S SHADOW ON THE SEA OF TRANQUILLITY BEFORE HUMANITY'S FIRST LIFTOFF FROM ANOTHER WORLD Buzz Aldrin, 16-24 July 1969 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-37-5464]. Numbered 'NASA AS11-37-5464' 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 A brief shadow of humanity on a previously untouched world. Like any 'tourists' on a once-in-a-lifetime journey, Armstrong and Aldrin took a series of photographs through their Lunar Module windows, documenting their time on the lunar surface before humanity's first liftoff from the Moon. This striking photograph, captured by Buzz Aldrin from his Lunar Module Pilot window, presents the bold, black shadow of Eagle stretched across the Moon's surface—a fleeting presence of humanity on an otherwise untouched world. In the foreground, impressions left by the astronauts' boots are clearly visible, etched into the fine lunar soil—the first human footprints ever made beyond Earth, now left behind as the astronauts prepared for their return to Columbia in lunar orbit. Taken using the IVA Hasselblad 500 EL camera, equipped with an 80mm lens and magazine 37/R, the image serves as a poignant reminder of this historic moment. 'The post-EVA checklist went very well. [...] The time period that we took while we were waiting for the canister (replacement) before starting the depressurization was comparably long. We had to put an eat period in there, as I remember, and took a lot of pictures.' Neil Armstrong (1969 Technical Debrief, from the ALSJ mission transcript at 112:22:06 GET) 'This period was prolonged a bit to try to make as much use of the film remaining. I think we probably took more pictures than we should have in an effort to make sure that we covered each particular window as thoroughly as possible and with as wide a range of settings as we could before we proceeded to jettison the camera.' Buzz Aldrin (1969 Technical Debrief, from the ALSJ mission transcript at 112:20:56 GET). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing