448 a
Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, or James Lovell

The Earth seen through the window of the lifeboat LM Aquarius

Apollo 13, April 11-17, 1970

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 AS13-62-8889” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin

448 b
Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, or James Lovell

The Moon seen through the window of the lifeboat LM Aquarius

Apollo 13, April 11-17, 1970

Unreleased photograph, vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A KodakPaper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA AS13-62-8894” (NASA MSC) in red in top margin
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

448 a
Light, plate 110

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Lot Essay

448 a
While surviving in their “lifeboat” LM, the Apollo 13 astronauts took this astonishing photograph of the Earth, more than 200,000 nautical miles away, through the 60mm lens of the lunar surface EVA camera not knowing whether they would ever return but knowing for sure that they would not land on the Moon.

The astronauts used two cameras during the rest of the mission after the explosion: one Hasselblad EL equipped with a 250mm telephoto lens and one lunar surface Hasselblad Data Camera equipped with a 60mm lens and the transparent glass reseau plate engraved with grid markings used to calibrate distances on the Moon; which explains the crosses in the image.

“We were as calm as could be. We didn’t panic. If we did, we’d still be up there.”
James Lovell (from the documentary In The Shadow of the Moon, 2007)

448 b
“Tantalizingly close but ultimately out of reach, the Moon hangs in the window of the approaching LM Aquarius” (Chaikin, Voices, p.199).

While surviving in their “lifeboat” LM more than 200,000 nautical miles away from Earth, the Apollo 13 astronauts used the 60mm lens to take this astonishing photograph of the crescent Moon knowing they would not visit its surface.

From the mission transcript during the perilous journey toward the Moon:

068:03:33 Lovell: Well, I’m afraid this is going to be the last lunar mission for a long time. [...]
068:21:00 Public Affairs Officer (Mission Control): This is Apollo Control at 68 hours, 21 minutes. Apollo 13’s distance from Earth now is 200,396 nautical miles [371,133 km].
Velocity 2,919 feet per second [890 m/s].