[Apollo 17] EUGENE CERNAN AND THE ROVER AT THE TAURUS-LITTROW SCIENTIFIC SITE, FRAMED BY THE TOW...

[Apollo 17] EUGENE CERNAN AND THE ROVER AT THE TAURUS-LITTROW SCIENTIFIC SITE, FRAMED BY THE TOWERING NORTH MASSIF (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo Science report) Harrison Schmitt, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 1 Printed 1972. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS17-147-22549]. With original editorial labels in the white margins on the recto for publication in NASA's Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), with 'A Kodak Paper' watermark and traces of previous mounting on the reverse, numbered 'NASA AS17-147-22549' in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas), together with an original NASA sheet indicating directives and notes (figure 4-23) for publication in the report. 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context This image symbolizes the isolation and boldness of Apollo explorations: amid the vast and desolate expanse of Taurus-Littrow, Eugene Cernan and the Lunar Rover appear almost insignificant against the towering lunar landscape. This spectacular photograph is NASA's own archival copy used and annotated for the production of the Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330) on humanity's final voyage to the Moon. Eugene Cernan, working at the Lunar Rover, is framed by the 2,100-metre North Massif in this exceptional and rare view from a panoramic sequence captured by Harrison Schmitt at the Taurus-Littrow scientific site (ALSEP site), near one of four deployed geophone experiments. [Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report caption] FIGURE 4-23. -The gnomon with colour chart sits next to one of the lunar seismic profiling geophones, indicated by the orange flag. The gold-coloured, rectangular object near left centre is the ALSEP central station; the white antenna extending above the central station telemetres data to Earth from each of the surrounding experiments. North Massif, 3 km in the distance, forms the skyline. On the slope of North Massif, to the right of the LRV, is a track made by a massive boulder as it rolled down the side of the mountain. The sharpness of the track suggests that the boulder may have been in its present position only a relatively short time (AS17-147-22549). Footnotes: Literature Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), figure 4-23 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing