A large format color photograph of NASA Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin conducting lunar experiments on the moon is a 16" x 20" vintage chromogenic print on fiber paper, with watermark "A Kodak Paper" and photo id number: AS-11-40-5949 on the verso (back of photo). 1969.
NASA prints of this size are uncommon They were reserved for NASA senior scientists, state guests, Hasselblad executives, or, as in our case, Kodak managers from whom NASA purchased its photographic material.
Provenance: Private Collector
Collectors Notes on Moon Photography:
The photograph of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing next to a seismograph with the "Eagle" and American flag in the background remains an historical and artistic document from 8 days in space during which time Neil Armstrong photographed the Apollo 11 moon mission including his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The Apollo 11 Moonwalk remains a story on exploration, risk taking for great rewards in science and engineering – and for setting and accomplishing an ambitious goal for the world to witness.
During this first moonwalk mission in 1969, Neil Armstrong with a 70mm Hasselblad camera and 60mm lens photographed Buzz Aldrin who said when setting a foot on the Moon: “Beautiful view. Isn’t that something? Magnificent sight out here. Magnificent desolation.”
It was Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), however, who had become the first person to step onto the lunar surface on the journey and had announced humbly to the world that his victory was "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours 31 minutes on the lunar surface at a site they named Tranquility Base before lifting off to rejoin astronaut Michael Collins in the Columbia in lunar orbit and beginning their reentry to Earth.
“A flight to the moon is a long and challenging daisy chain of events," Michael Collins said of the historic mission. "The flight was a question of being under tension and worrying about … what I have to do next to keep the daisy chain in tact. Apollo 11 was serious business. We crew felt the weight of the world on our shoulders. We knew everyone in the world would be looking at us – friend or foe. We wanted to do the best we possibly could, put our best foot forward – that required a great deal of work on our part."
****
The value of vintage NASA photographs from the historic space missions, beginning in the 1960s, is increasing as the scientific community moves forward with innovations to explore distant
galaxies, such as the development of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The Webb Telescope Is the latest milestone for NASA and space exploration. The deployment of JWST in space on Dec 25, 2021 from French Guyana allows a team of international researchers, using the telescope’s revolutionary hexagonal segments, mirrors, and infrared camera, to survey and study the stars, star clusters, and dust from the beginning of time, the early stages of the universe, at the rocket’s destination Lagrange Point 2 (L2), 1.5 million kilometers from earth. On Jan 24, 2022 JWST arrived and parked itself at L2.
***
Available at 99Prints NYC an online art marketplace for today’s collector of contemporary art, works on paper, original and limited edition photography. Based in New York City, 99Prints ships worldwide.