[Apollo 14] THE BOULDER FIELD AT STATION C': where the crew abandoned their quest for Cone Crate...

[Apollo 14] THE BOULDER FIELD AT STATION C': where the crew abandoned their quest for Cone Crater Alan Shepard, 31 January - 9 February 1971, EVA 2 Printed 1971. Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS14-64-9103]. Blank on the reverse (issued by NASA). 25.4 x 20.3 cm. (10 x 8 in.) Historical context Just 90 metres away—Apollo 14's abandoned hunt for Cone Crater This frame from Alan Shepard's panoramic sequence at Station C'—1,345 metres east-northeast of the LM Antares—captures the rugged boulder field the astronauts explored after abandoning their search for the elusive rim of Cone Crater. A three-foot-high boulder sits prominently on the left, they were unaware that the near horizon, just 90 metres ahead, concealed their ultimate goal. Ignoring how close they were, Shepard and Mitchell, under strict time constraints, decided to collect samples here instead of pressing forward. The ridge ahead was, in fact, the true edge of Cone Crater—hidden in plain sight. 'We had to give up because of the time constraint [...] for the last two hundred yards we thought, the next one is the edge of Cone Crater, and it was just another ridge. We assumed that the next one would be just another ridge also, and it turned out, no, in this case, the next one really was the edge of Cone Crater.' —Edgar Mitchell (Chaikin, Voices, p. 95) Footnotes: From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 133:23:17 Shepard: Well, I don't know what the rim is still way up here from the looks of things. 133:23:23 Haise (Mission Control): And, Ed and Al, we've already eaten into our 30-minute extension and we're past that now. I think we'd better proceed with the sampling and continue with the EVA. 133:23:37 Mitchell: Okay, Fredo. 133:23:40 Shepard: Okay. We'll start with a pan from here. I'll take that. 133:23:47 Mitchell: All right, I'll start sampling. (Long Pause) 133:24:26 Shepard: Okay, Houston. We are in the middle of a fairly large boulder field. It covers perhaps as much as a square mile. And, as the pan will show, I don't believe we have quite reached the rim yet. However, we can't be too far away and I think certainly we'll find that these samples (come from) pretty far down in Cone Crater. Literature Full Moon, Light, plate 60 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing