Details
435 a
Richard Gordon

Earthrise seen from the Command Module Yankee Clipper

Apollo 12, November 14-24, 1969, orbit 18

Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), NASA KSC caption numbered “AS12-51-7527” on the verso, small folding in the black sky of space, scratches in the margins

435 b
Richard Gordon

Lunar shadows at sunrise

Apollo 12, November 14-24, 1969, orbit 19-26

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA / North American Rockwell) [NASA AS12-51-7551]

435 c
Richard Gordon, Alan Bean or Pete Conrad

The future Apollo 16 Descartes landing site seen from the Command Module spacecraft

Apollo 12, November 14-24, 1969, orbit 41

Unreleased photograph, vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered” NASA AS12-52-7631” (NASA MSC) in black in top margin

435 d
Richard Gordon, Alan Bean or Pete Conrad

Oblique view of Crater Copernicus

Apollo 12, November 14-24, 1969, orbit 43-45

Unreleased photograph, vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), numbered in error “NASA AS12-52-7741” (NASA MSC) in black in top margin [AS12-52-7740]
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)
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Lot Essay

435 a
This photograph (originally shot on color film) of a slender crescent of Earth above the lunar horizon was taken by Gordon from lunar orbit with the 250mm telephoto lens as Conrad and Bean were inside the LM Intrepid on the lunar surface before the first EVA.
The northwestern shore of Crater Pasteur is in the foreground.

The NASA caption states in error that “the stark lunar landscape in the foreground is dimly illuminated by Earthshine”.

435 b
This fantastic photograph looking north west into the lunar nearside terminator was taken by Gordon from the Command Module with the 80mm lens during one of the orbital passes between orbits 19 and 26.
The rising Sun reveals the ghostly shadow of Crater Encke (center), a lunar impact crater 28km in diameter that is located on the western edge of the Sea of Islands, to the south-southeast of the crater Kepler. Latitude / Longitude: 4.5° N / 36.5° W.

From the mission transcript during the last revolution of the spacecraft around the Moon as the astronauts were looking at the lunar terminator before heading back to Earth:

172:52:59 Bean: The impression that I get, Don, and I had this impression the first time I looked at the terminator, too, is that it’s really useless for you all to have color down there, because it is pure black and white [...]it looks to me [...] that I’m not really looking at the real Moon. It - it just doesn’t look right, it’s so black and white. It is sort of like a painting.
172:53:31 Gordon: Roger. Looks just like a black-and-white photograph, doesn’t it?

435 c
This rare photograph from magazine 52 / S shows the small bright craters South Ray (700m in diameter, left) and North Ray (950 m in diameter, right) in the Descartes area near Crater Dollond B.
It was taken from an altitude of 60 nautical miles with the 500mm telephoto lens as the astronauts were obtaining a low-oblique stereo coverage of the Descartes area.
The Apollo 16 LM Orion landed between North Ray and South Ray craters on April 21, 1972; and North Ray was visited by the crew. Latitude / longitude: 8.7° S / 15° E.

From the mission transcript during orbit 41:
163:45:00 Carr (Mission Control): 12, Houston. Go.
163:45:05 Conrad: Okay. We’ve got Descartes, and we got Fra Mauro.

435 d
A superb photograph similar to the “Picture of the Century” featuring Copernicus Crater taken by Lunar Orbiter II in 1966.

This rare oblique photograph from magazine 52/S was taken looking north during one of the orbital passes between orbits 43 and 45 (before transEarth Injection at the end of the 45th revolution) as a “target of opportunity” from an altitude of 60 nautical miles through the 250mm telephoto lens and shows a great view of the western half of the Crater Copernicus including its central peak and its terraced northwestern wall.
The oblique view and the telephoto lens provide a great view of the lunar relief.
Latitude / Longitude: 0.4° N / 21.7° W.

Due to a malfunction of the camera using this magazine, the astronauts didn’t know until their return to Earth if the photograph had been properly exposed.

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