577 a
John Young, Ken Mattingly or Charles Duke

The Earth from about 58,000 nautical miles away

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, 012:10:00 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 AS16-118-18888” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin, with three filing holes in top margin

577 b
John Young, Ken Mattingly or Charles Duke

The Earth from about 116,000 nautical miles away

Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972, 029:15:00 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 AS16-118-18890” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin, with three filing holes in top margin
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

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Lot Essay

577 a
This photograph was taken with Hasselblad equipped with the 105mm lens, a special UV-transmitting lens designed to obtain UV photographs with corresponding UV film.

However “color photography was carried out using the same system by substituting a color magazine and using a UV cut-off filter in front of the camera lens, providing independent indentification of the scenes being viewed” (NASA SP-315, p. 17.1-17.2).

The Earth is centered over the Pacific Ocean with Australia at the bottom and south east Asia visible beneath the clouds at left.

011:59:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): It’s continued rather quiet here at Mission Control. The activities aboard the spacecraft have been primarily housekeeping sorts of things. [...] They are scheduled to be taking another series of ultraviolet photographs of Earth prior to beginning their rest period. They will also set the spacecraft up in the so called Passive Thermal Control (PTC) mode where the entire vehicle is rotated about its longitudinal axis at the rate of about three revolutions per hour to maintain the proper temperature equilibrium. [...] At the present time, Apollo 16 is 58,133 nautical miles [107,662 km] from Earth and traveling at a speed of 7,604 feet [2,318 m] per second. [...]
012:10:06 Peterson (Mission Control): 16, Houston. On this UV photography, we want to be sure we go Mode, Free. I think last time, we didn’t get that.

577 b
This color photograph accompanying a UV photographic sequence of the Earth was taken with the 105mm lens during the second day of the flight to the Moon.
The Earth is centered over the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of California and Baja California are clearly visible.

028:57:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): Apollo 16 now 114,858 nautical miles [212,717 km] away from the Earth. And now traveling at a speed of 4,669 feet [1,423 m] per second. In the Mission Control Center we’re in the process of a shift change. This being the Orange Team of flight controllers replacing the White Team of flight controllers. [...]
029:11:41 Mattingly: Okay, we’re exiting PTC (Passive Thermal Control) and going to the far-UV
(photography) attitude. [...]
029:22:13 Duke: How’s the weather down there today, Pete?
029:22:16 Peterson (Mission Control): Beautiful. A little warm.
029:22:48 Peterson: And, Charlie, you’re right over the Gulf of Mexico.
029:22:50 Mattingly: He looked out his window and said that you guys are still there.

“There’s not a scene on the Moon that carries the emotional impact of watching your Earth shrink to a little ball.”
Ken Mattingly (National Geographic, December 1972, p. 865).