[Apollo 15] DAVID SCOTT AT THE LUNAR ROVER IN FRONT OF HADLEY CANYON AND MOUNT HADLEY DELTA, STA...

[Apollo 15] DAVID SCOTT AT THE LUNAR ROVER IN FRONT OF HADLEY CANYON AND MOUNT HADLEY DELTA, STATION 9A James Irwin, 26 July - 7 August, 1971, EVA 3 Printed 1971. Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS15-82-11121]. Numbered 'NASA AS15-82-11121' in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context Exploring the edge of Hadley Canyon. A magnificent frame from the panoramic sequence taken by James Irwin at station 9A, one of the most spectacular locations of the Apollo program, perched on the very edge of Hadley Canyon, about 1.8 km west of the Lunar Module. David Scott is seen retrieving the 500mm telephoto Hasselblad camera from the Lunar Rover to photograph the far side of the canyon, which spans approximately 1 km across. This powerful telephoto lens allowed him to capture distant lunar features with unprecedented clarity. Behind the rover, Mount Hadley Delta looms approximately 18 km away, with the vast 2.4-km-wide St. George Crater punched into its side. Below, Hadley Canyon bends southward near Elbow Crater, while Silver Spur is visible to the left of Mount Hadley Delta. The awe-inspiring terrain surrounding Hadley Base was unlike anything encountered on previous missions—steep mountains, dramatic canyons, and a landscape that evoked the grandeur of Earth's most rugged geological formations, leaving the crew in awe (see mission transcript). Footnotes: From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 165:21:03 Scott: We're at a nice place to stop and we're... 165:21:04 Allen (Mission Control): ...and, Jim, you may want to use Dave's camera to record this (station) on film, while Dave uses... 165:21:06 Irwin: I am. 165:21:07 Allen: ...the 500-millimeter camera. 165:21:14 Irwin: That's exactly what we're doing. 165:21:15 Scott: Yeah, you must have dropped comm there, Joe. That's what we're in the process of doing here. After I dust your eye (the TV camera on the Rover) off. (Pause as Scott does the dusting) How's that, Joe? (No answer; Pause) 165:21:41 Scott: (To Fendell at Mission Control) Attaboy; swing it (the TV camera) around there, and you're going to see a spectacular place. Boy, oh, boy! [...] 165:22:40 Scott: And, I have the 500 out. 165:22:42 Allen: And look at that rille. 165:22:47 Scott: How about that? 165:22:48 Allen: How about that, geology fans? Literature Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-289), appendix D, figure D-14 Apollo: The Panoramas, Constantine, p.83 Voices from the Moon, Chaikin, pp.70-71 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing