Last week, a trove of vintage prints from NASA’s early history headed to the auction block in London. The collection includes many amazing, space-race moments frozen in time, ranging from the mundane to the mystic. Here’s a selection of a few of our favorites:
A crescent Earth rises from behind the moon in this 1972 photo taken from Apollo 17.
Apollo 16, the second-to-last crewed NASA moon mission thus far, lifts off on a beautiful Florida day in 1972.
As Apollo 12 headed home from the moon, its astronauts captured this stunning view of Earth eclipsing the sun.
Buzz Aldrin snapped this shot of boot prints on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission.
Apollo 11’s view of Earth.
Apollo 11 blasts off toward the moon in this photo taken by Ralph Morse for Life magazine.
Astronaut James McDivitt snapped this shot of fellow astronaut Ed White floating outside Gemini 4 while on the first spacewalk by an American.
Apollo 8 lifts off to shoot for the moon. The spacecraft became the first crewed vehicle to leave Earth’s orbit, and to circle the moon.
Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham took a picture of the Florida peninsula—a place that had become home to him and many of his colleagues—from orbit.
Astronaut Donn Eisele mugs for the camera on Apollo 7.
A Saturn V rocket in place on the launchpad, ready to takeoff on the first test of the three-stage launch system that would eventually carry Apollo astronauts to the moon.
Buzz Aldrin takes a self-portrait while on his spacewalk, part of the Gemini 12 mission.
Astronaut James Lovell snapped a haunting image of sunrise over the Andes mountains during his 14 days in space aboard Gemini 7.
Walter Schirra smiles during the countdown to liftoff for Gemini 6A. During this 1965 mission, Schirra and copilot Thomas Stafford performed the first crewed rendezvous with another spacecraft.
Ed White floats away from Gemini 4 to perform the first American spacewalk (or EVA, which is short for extravehicular activity).
This snapshot by James McDivitt, the Gemini 4 command pilot, is the first portrait of an astronaut taken in flight. It features copilot Ed White.
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