578 a
John Young, Ken Mattingly or Charles Duke

The lunar farside horizon seen from the spacecraft orbiting the Moon at low altitude after Descent Orbit Insertion maneuver

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, orbit 3

Unreleased photograph, vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA AS16-120-19191” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin

578 b
John Young or Charles Duke

The Command Module Casper after undocking from the LM Orion over
the lunar farside

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, orbit 12

Unreleased photograph, vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA AS16-113-18280” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin, with three filing holes in top margin

578 c
Ken Mattingly

The LM Orion in lunar orbit after undocking from the CM Casper

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, orbit 12

Vintage chromogenic print on resin coated Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso [NASA AS16-118-18894]

578 d
Charles Duke

The Command Module Casper and the Earth both emerging over the lunar horizon

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, orbit 13, 098:10:45 GET

Unreleased photograph, vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm
(8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA AS16-113-18286” in red in top margin (NASA MSC), with three filing holes in top margin
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

578 d
Zürich, Kunsthaus, Salzburg, Museum der Moderne, Fly me to the Moon, March-June 2019 and July-November 2019, exhibition catalogue, p. 361, no. 53.

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Lot Essay

578 a
The photograph was taken looking west (forward) with the 250mm telephoto lens from an altitude of only 46 km after the Descent Orbit Insertion maneuver performed on the lunar farside to put the spacecraft in the required orbit to begin the Powered Descent to the lunar surface (scheduled on orbit 13).
The eroded 75-km Crater Saenger is barely discernible and cut off at the left of center.
Latitude / longitude: 5° N / 105° E.

From the mission transcript before and after Descent Orbit Insertion maneuver (orbit 2-3):

078:02:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): At the present time the Apollo 16 crew is in the process of putting the spacecraft in its proper attitude for the Descent Orbit Insertion maneuver. That burn is to be performed in 31 minutes, 30 seconds with the spacecraft out of radio contact on the backside of the Moon. [...] Based on the numbers provided and which are entered in the computer on board that burn will be 24.2 seconds in duration and targeted to give us an orbit of 58.5 by 10.3 nautical miles [108.3 by 19.1 km]. The current orbit is 169.9 by 58.1 [314.6 by 107.6 km]. [...]
079:10:30:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): This is Apollo control. We should be coming up on Acquisition Of Signal now. And network reports that we have AOS.
079:10:37 Young: Okay, Houston. Nominal burn; first - first DOI burn we ever had that was nominal.
079:10:44 Hartsfield (Mission Control): Roger. That’s great news. [...]
079:10:56 Duke: Okay, Henry. It feels like if we had - we’re clipping the tops of the trees all through there - what it looks like.

578 b
Duke took the photograph from the LM Orion from an altitude of only 57 km above the surface after undocking on revolution 12, using the 60mm lens of the EVA Hasselblad.
Lunar highlands west of Crater Abul Wafa are in the background. Latitude / longitude: 1.2° N 114.8° E.

NASA released a variant of this photograph (AS16-113-18282).

From the mission transcript after undocking:

096:16:31 Young (Orion): Boy, Ken, you look great!
096:16:32 Mattingly (Casper): Well...
096:16:33 Duke (Orion): You really got a pretty spacecraft!
096:16:34 Mattingly (Casper): Yours is a [garble] pretty one, too.

578 c
After separation from the CSM, the LM maneuvered to permit inspection by Mattingly prior to landing.
The photograph was taken with the 80 mm lens.

From the mission transcript after undocking:

096:15:05 Duke (Orion): Okay. Great, Ken. Man, it’s great! Boy, when we fire the RCS (Reaction Control System), it really shakes the whole stack.
096:15:21 Mattingly (Casper): Oh, not any more!
096:15:24 Duke (Orion): Hey, you’re beautiful, babe! You’re just beautiful !
096:15:31 Mattingly (Casper): Yes, indeed. You sure look good.
096:15:34 Duke (Orion): Okay, all your booms are in.
096:15:41 Mattingly (Casper): I see full view. You’ve got three [garble] down. Your [garble] valve’s clean [garble] clean [garble] still hanging on. What more can you ask for?

578 d
This photograph was taken from the LM Orion at an altitude of only 57 km above the Moon following the CSM’s failure to make the circularization burn which endangered the landing attempt and obliged the two crafts to re-join.
Duke aimed the EVA Hasselblad camera equipped with a 60mm lens looking west toward the CSM about one mile away. Lunar highlands east of Crater Saha are in the background.

098:08:45 Young (Orion): See Ken out there?
098:08:46 Duke (Orion): Yeah, I see Ken. [...]
098:09:32 Young (Orion): What should we acquire them (Mission control) on here? Should be - we should he getting them now, Charlie. 98:10.
098:09:39 Duke (Orion): Well, the Earth’s - ain’t come up yet. [...]
098:10:38 Duke (Orion): There it comes.
098:10:45 Duke (Orion): Okay, Ken, we’re getting Earthrise.
098:10:47 Mattingly (Casper): Yeah, I got my high gain set up.
098:11:13 Hartsfield (Mission control): Casper, Houston. How do you read?
098:11:16 Mattingly (Casper): Okay; they’re locking up on me. Hello, Houston. This is Casper [garble] now. We did not do [the] Circ(ularization) [burn], and I’d like to talk about the TVC servo loops.
098:11:29 Hartsfield: Understand. No Circ.
098:11:33 Mattingly (Casper): That’s affirmative. Presently, about a mile ahead of the LM.

“We had a problem with the Command Module before landing. Mattingly reported a major engine problem that required us to rendezvous. This photograph was taken as we closed in
on Mattingly for a little station keeping until they solved the problem. We were co-altitude
at the time and started closing when we had Earthrise. Actually, we were pretty down in the
dumps about that time because the mission rules said we were going to abort and not to
land. Fortunately, Houston solved the problem.”
Charles Duke (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 119)