Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin closing out the first EVA on the surface of another world. Neil Armstrong [Apollo 11], 16–24 July 1969. Vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper, printed 1969 [NASA AS11–40-5963, originally shot on color film]. 25.4×20.3 cm (10×8 in), numbered “AS11–40-5963” (NASA / USGS) in bottom margin.
Literature: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, December 1969, p. 768.
A very rare photograph of Aldrin at the end of the moonwalk before he returned inside the LM Eagle.
“During this first visit to the Moon, the astronauts remained within about 100 meters of the LM, collected about 47 pounds of samples, and deployed four experiments. After spending approximately 2 hours and 31 minutes on the surface, the astronauts ended the EVA at 1:11:13 a.m. EDT on July 21." (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/surface_opp/).
One of the last tasks of the EVA was to take core samples of the lunar surface, thanks to a hammer and special core tube. In the photograph, Aldrin holds the hammer in his hand. The Solar Wind Collector is visible just beyond the core tube stuck into the lunar surface.
“I picked up the hammer, went out in the vicinity of where the Solar Wind Experiment was, and drove the first core tube into the ground. I pushed it in about 3 or 4 inches and then started tapping it with the hammer.” Buzz Aldrin (1969 Technical Debrief, from the ALSJ mission transcript at 111:15:35 GET).
NASA fotografier, 9. marts 2022