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View full screen - View 1 of Lot 9. LUNAR ORBITER IV. NEARSIDE OF THE MOON, WITH MARE ORIENTALE, GRAMALDI CRATER, AND OCEANUS PROCELLARUM, 1976.

LUNAR ORBITER IV. NEARSIDE OF THE MOON, WITH MARE ORIENTALE, GRAMALDI CRATER, AND OCEANUS PROCELLARUM, 1976

Lot Closed

December 3, 05:09 PM GMT

Estimate

2,400 - 3,500 USD

Lot Details

Description

LUNAR ORBITER IV

NEARSIDE OF THE MOON, WITH DRAMATIC VIEWS OF THE MARE ORIENTALE, GRAMALDI CRATER, AND THE OCEANUS PROCELLARUM, TAKEN 11-26 MAY, 1976


NASA Langley Research Center vintage silver gelatin contact print, 17 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches, of Lunar Orbiter image IV-173M.


A beautiful image of the nearside of the moon, the Mare Orientale and center and partially shrouded in mysterious shadows, with a broad view of the Oceanus Procellarum at upper right.


Lunar Orbiter IV flew in high altitude polar orbits with the primary objective of mapping the near side of the Moon in high resolution, with 100% of the nearside being photographed, and 95% of the farside. A 40 by 45 foot mosaic was created at NASA's Langley Research Center using the images taken by the Lunar Orbiter IV, and visitors were allowed to stand or crawl over it. The mosaic was used to determine the sites to be photographed in higher resolution by the Lunar Orbiter V.


LITERATURE

See Bowker & Hughes, Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon