[Apollo 11] The first photograph of a human on the surface of...

[Apollo 11] The first photograph of a human on the surface of another world. Neil Armstrong, 16–24 July 1969. Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11–40-5872]. 25.4×20.3 cm (10×8 in), with "A Kodak Paper“ watermarks on the verso (NASA / North American Rockwell, Downey, California).

Literature: National Geographic, December 1969, ppg. 770–771; LIFE, 11 August 1969; LIFE, 8 August 1969, pg. 24; Moon: Man’s Greatest Adventure, Thomas, ed., ppg. 196–197; Images from Space, The Camera in Orbit, Arnold, pl. 17.

The first ever photograph of a human being walking on another world than his Home Planet. As requested per his checklist, Armstrong took this historic first photograph of Aldrin on the lunar surface in order to document the Solar Wind Experiment. Many of the pictures taken by Armstrong will always be considered as classics of lunar surface photography. Here, rim-lit by the Sun to the left, Aldrin unfurls the aluminum sheet of the Solar Wind Experiment; behind him is the Lunar Module. Footprints can be seen in the foreground, also the linear tracks which were formed by the cable of the lunar surface TV camera. The shapes of light on the left were caused by the Sun shining almost directly into the camera lens. (Arnold, plate 17).

“Stepping out of the LM’s shadow was a shock. One moment I was in total darkness, the next in the Sun’s hot floodlight. From the ladder I had seen all the sunlit moonscape beyond our shadow but with no atmosphere, there was absolutely no refracted light around me. I stuck my hand out past the shadow’s edge into the Sun, and it was like punching through a barrier into another dimension.” Buzz Aldrin (from his 1973 book Return to Earth).

Condition Report:Excellent condition.

Please notice: Supplementary material not included.

Category:Photos ▸ Vintage photographs