[Apollo 15] DUNE CRATER IN FRONT OF MOUNT HADLEY AT STATION 4 James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 19...

[Apollo 15] DUNE CRATER IN FRONT OF MOUNT HADLEY AT STATION 4 James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 2 Printed 1971. Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS15-90-12244]. Numbered 'NASA AS15-90-12244' in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.) Historical context Hadley's majesty. This photograph is a frame from a panorama captured during a brief stop on the first rover return traverse from Station 7 on the slopes of Hadley Delta to the Lunar Module Falcon. In the foreground, the 500-meter-wide Dune Crater—originally planned as the first stop of EVA 2 (Station 4)—remains unexplored, its visit cancelled due to time constraints. Rising behind its rim, the towering slopes of Mount Hadley dominate the background, adding to the breathtaking desolation of Hadley-Apennine. 'It had a majestic feeling about it. And one says this after talking about how it's dusty, it's grey, nothing's growing, nothing of any real beauty. But yet, take it all together with the vastness of it, the sense of history, the boulders, and the elevations we had on our flight and certainly some of the other flights, Hadley for example, it really is majestic, in the sense of a desolate mountain desert type of a setting.' — Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard (Chaikin, Voices, p. 66) Footnotes: Interestingly, Irwin's camera stopped working while capturing the panorama, highlighting the challenges of photographing on another world. From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 146:30:31 Scott: Jim, I've got to change my film mag here. 146:30:33 Irwin: Okay; I'll take a pan. 146:30:35 Scott: Take a pan, yeah. Good idea. 146:32:28 Scott: Jimmy? (Pause) 146:32:34 Irwin: Camera's stopped working. 146:32:36 Scott: It has? Maybe you're out of film. 146:32:41 Irwin: I just put this on! 146:32:45 Allen (Mission Control): Is it your camera, Dave? 146:32:46 Scott: Well, I'll take the (sample documentation) pictures. Let's get one sample. (Answering Joe) Jim's out of film, or his camera stopped, and I can take the pictures. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing