[Apollo 15] DAVID SCOTT, THE ROVER AND THE AWE-INSPIRING HADLEY CANYON, STATION 2 James Irwin, 2...

[Apollo 15] DAVID SCOTT, THE ROVER AND THE AWE-INSPIRING HADLEY CANYON, STATION 2 James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August 1971, EVA 1 Printed 1971. Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA images AS15-85-11451]. Numbered 'NASA AS15-85-11451' 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 Exploring beauty: David Scott and the rover on the edge of Hadley Canyon. This striking image, part of the second panoramic sequence captured by James Irwin at station 2, shows David Scott and the Lunar Rover perched on the steep slope of Mount Hadley Delta, overlooking the spectacular Hadley Canyon. In the foreground, Irwin's shadow and footprints mark the lunar surface. The view from Hadley Delta's slopes was nothing short of breathtaking. The sinuous rille, winding northward from Mount Hadley, defined the dramatic landscape. In the early morning light, the eastern wall of the rille remained in deep shadow, while the western wall and portions of the canyon floor were brightly illuminated. Scattered across the valley floor, house-sized boulders hinted at the Moon's dynamic geological past. This view was so extraordinary that National Geographic later described it as the most stunning scenery ever witnessed on the Moon, defying prior descriptions of the lunar surface as 'barren and drab.' (National Geographic, February 1972, 'The Mountains of the Moon,' pp. 242-43) 'Possibly of equal importance with all the findings by Apollo 15 was the discovery—shared through television by millions of people—that there existed beauty and majesty in views of nature that had previously been outside human experience.' —Harrison Schmitt (NASA SP-350, p. 279) Footnotes: Literature National Geographic, 'The Mountains of the Moon', February 1972, pp. 242-43 Images from space, Arnold, plate 22 Apollo: through the eyes of the astronauts, Jacobs, p.103 Apollo: the epic journey to the Moon, Reynolds, pp.184-185 Chaikin, Voices from the Moon, pp. 88-89 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing