[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN ABOARD LM EAGLE EN ROUTE TO THE MOON NEIL ARMSTRONG, 16-24 JULY 1969

[Apollo 11] BUZZ ALDRIN ABOARD LM EAGLE EN ROUTE TO THE MOON NEIL ARMSTRONG, 16-24 JULY 1969 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-36-5398]. With 'A Kodak Paper' watermark on the reverse, numbered 'NASA AS11-36-5398' in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas), with a 5cm restored diagonal tear at lower right of white margin. 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context Final systems check—Buzz Aldrin at work inside Columbia. This Apollo 11 photograph captures Buzz Aldrin communicating with Mission Control during the checkout of LM Eagle, docked to CSM Columbia en route to the Moon. Aldrin is seated on the left side of the cabin, at Neil Armstrong's pilot station, with the spacecraft's main circuit breaker panels visible on the left. His focused demeanour reflects the precision and teamwork behind the mission, where every system check was crucial to ensuring humanity's first steps on another world. At this moment, Apollo 11 was 178,236 nautical miles (330,093 km) from Earth, steadily advancing toward history. 'In our preliminary flight plan I wasn't scheduled to go to the LM until the next day in lunar orbit but I lobbied to go earlier [...] to make sure that the frail LM and its equipment had suffered no damage during the launch and long trip. [...] It was surprising to me how much at home I felt in Eagle because of all the simulations we had done back home. The view of the Moon from the surface and the EVA itself have much less reality to me now than have those familiar operations inside Eagle.' —Buzz Aldrin (NASA SP-350, p. 207 and LIFE, 22 August 1969) Footnotes: A notable feature in this image is the Crew Optical Alignment Sight (COAS), mounted near the window above Aldrin's head. This critical navigation aid was used for precise spacecraft orientation and rendezvous manoeuvres. From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 057:04:00 Public Affairs officer (Mission Control): At the present time, Apollo 11 is 178,236 nautical miles [330,093 km] from Earth, and the velocity has dropped down now to 3,146 feet per second [959 m/s]. At 57 hours, 4 minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston. 057:04:05 Duke (Mission Control): Apollo 11, Houston. Our recommendations on the activities for the next hour or so, as far as Flight Plan goes, are: Continue your LM familiarization as desired until about 58 hours, then ingress to the CSM, close the hatch, and establish PTC shortly thereafter. Over. Literature The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography 1962-1972, Ron Schick and Julia Van Haaften, p. 12 Watch more CLICK HERE: Apollo 11 TV transmission - 055:09:00 GET For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing