[Apollo 17] THE EARTH ABOVE LM CHALLENGER: last seen by humans from the surface of another world...

[Apollo 17] THE EARTH ABOVE LM CHALLENGER: last seen by humans from the surface of another world (NASA's own copy, used and annotated, for the preparation of its final Apollo science report) Eugene Cernan, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 3 Printed 1972. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS17-134-20463]. 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 AS17-134-20463' 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 4-22) for publication in the report. 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context Earthrise above Challenger: A Home beyond the Moon One of the very few Apollo photographs capturing Earth from the lunar surface, this extraordinary image presents a rare reversal of perspective—our home planet seen from another world. Eugene Cernan stepped east of the Lunar Module Challenger with his Hasselblad camera to take this stunning 'tourist' portrait. Floating in the infinite blackness of space, the half-Earth rises above the LM, with the summit of the South Massif in the distance. This remarkable composition encapsulates the astronauts' dual homes: Challenger, their temporary shelter on the Moon, and Earth, the cradle of all human life, hanging serenely in the sky. 'Looking back at the Earth is your identity with reality. It's home. It's where family and love and life really are, viewed from a vantage point a quarter of a million miles out in space where reality itself is almost a dream, [...] a dream in which you are a very vulnerable character. [...] I wonder what it would have been like to walk on the Moon and not have the Earth in the sky.' —Eugene Cernan (Chaikin, Voices, p. 99) This image stands as a profound reminder of our place in the cosmos—both explorers and inhabitants of a fragile blue world suspended in the vastness of space. Footnotes: [Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report caption] FIGURE 4-22.-A half Earth hangs over the LM on the lunar surface (AS 17-134-20463). Literature Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-330), figure 4-22 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing