One Giant Leap for Mankind: Vintage Photographs from the Victor Martin-Malburet Collection 
28 October 2022
One Giant Leap for Mankind: Vintage Photographs from the Victor Martin-Malburet Collection 
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Extremely rare TV picture of the Earth in the lunar sky at Descartes Base, NASA [Apollo 16], 16-27 April 1972, EVA 1

printed 1972
vintage gelatin silver print on fiber-based paper 8 h × 10 w in (20 × 25 cm)
estimate: $800–1,200
result: $219
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This very rare image of a crescent Earth in the black lunar sky (a B&W reproduction from a color TV transmission) was transmitted by the RCA TV camera mounted on the front of Lunar Rover and operated by Ed Fendell at Mission Control in Houston.
Numbered to verso '72-4-554' with RCA Astro Electronics credit stamp.

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The Apollo 16 astronauts didn’t photograph the Earth from the Moon’s surface with their Hasselblad cameras. This very rare image of a crescent Earth in the black lunar sky (a B&W reproduction from a color TV transmission) was transmitted by the RCA TV camera mounted on the front of Lunar Rover and operated by Ed Fendell at Mission Control in Houston.

It only worked when the Rover was parked and its high gain antenna pointing at Earth. Duke referred to it as the “Big Eye.”

“The Earth looks from the Moon like the Moon looks like from Earth, and vice versa. You can’t really tell the difference at that distance, even though the Earth is a lot bigger. They all look very small at 240,000 miles out. When people go to Mars, and they start looking at two very little dots out there after a couple of days, that ought to be a very interesting trip.”

—John Young (Chaikin, Voices, pg. 99)

From the mission transcript when the TV picture was transmitted

125:21:33 England (Mission Control):

Hey, fellows, we’re able to see the Earth with your big eye [the TV camera mounted on the Lunar Rover] there.

125:21:39 Duke:

How about that. Pretty sight, isn’t it?

125:21:43 England:

Sure is. Man, that’s weird.

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