An exceptionally rare official NASA mammoth-format gelatin silver photograph produced in 1967 from Lunar Orbiter III image data, depicting a dramatic oblique view across Oceanus Procellarum during the Apollo landing-site survey missions.

Bibliographic Details

Organisation: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Mission: Lunar Orbiter III.
Date: February 1967 (printed shortly after the mission).
Medium: Original vintage double-weight gelatin silver photograph.
Frame: Medium-resolution Frame III-136.
Identification: Captioned in the margins "NASA-LRC III-120M".
Paper: Double-weight photographic paper.
Verso: Short contemporary location annotation on reverse.
Overall Size: Approximately 51 × 61 cm (20 × 23¾ inches).
Image Size: Approximately 47 × 51 cm (18½ × 20 inches).

Condition

Very Good. Light corner creasing together with a couple of small and unobtrusive surface indentations or handling creases. Short contemporary annotation to the reverse. Overall a particularly well-preserved example of this impressive exhibition format. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or examine the gallery images closely.

Description

An exceptionally scarce official NASA mammoth-format gelatin silver photograph, printed shortly after the historic Lunar Orbiter III mission of February 1967. Produced from the original spacecraft image data during the height of the Apollo programme, this striking exhibition-sized print measures nearly 24 inches wide and represents one of the most impressive formats in which NASA distributed its lunar photography.

The image presents a dramatic oblique view across the south-eastern region of Oceanus Procellarum (the Ocean of Storms), the Moon's largest basaltic plain. The low viewing angle creates an extraordinary sense of relief and topography, revealing the complex relationship between cratered highlands and the vast volcanic mare that fascinated lunar geologists throughout the Apollo era.

Lunar Orbiter III played a pivotal role in NASA's preparations for the Moon landings. Launched in February 1967, the spacecraft concentrated on photographing potential Apollo landing sites at unprecedented resolution while simultaneously expanding scientific knowledge of the lunar surface. Together with the other Lunar Orbiter missions, it supplied the imagery that enabled mission planners to evaluate terrain, slopes, crater densities and navigational hazards before astronauts ever set foot on the Moon.

This photograph is identified as Medium Resolution Frame III-136 and bears its original NASA margin caption, "NASA-LRC III-120M." Printed on heavyweight double-weight photographic paper shortly after the mission, it exhibits the superb tonal range and remarkable clarity associated with original NASA laboratory prints produced directly from mission imagery.

Unlike the familiar 8 × 10 inch NASA publicity photographs distributed to schools and the general media, mammoth-format NASA prints of this size were produced in comparatively limited numbers, principally for scientists, engineers, research institutions and government agencies engaged with the Apollo programme. As a result, surviving examples are considerably scarcer and increasingly sought after by collectors of Space Race memorabilia.

The photograph enjoys excellent provenance, having formed part of the collection of amateur astronomer David J. Hasdell. Acquired during the Lunar Orbiter programme through a relative employed by the Boston Globe, who obtained material directly from NASA or its contractors, the print has remained preserved since the late 1960s.

Both scientifically significant and visually striking, this impressive original captures one of mankind's greatest periods of exploration, when robotic spacecraft first mapped the Moon in preparation for humanity's historic Apollo landings.

An outstanding acquisition for collectors of NASA photography, Apollo programme memorabilia, Space Race history, lunar exploration, astronomy and twentieth-century scientific photography.

Notes

Original mammoth-format NASA silver gelatin prints from the Lunar Orbiter programme are exceptionally uncommon and substantially rarer than the standard NASA publicity photographs familiar to most collectors.

Lunar Orbiter III provided some of the most important reconnaissance imagery used in selecting and evaluating landing sites for the Apollo missions, making original photographs from the mission highly significant in the history of space exploration.