NASA's 'Voyage to Another World' collection up for auction, includes 2400 vintage photos

London-based Christie’s Auctions is selling rare photographs of Neil Armstrong's famous steps on the moon and a self-portrait of Buzz Aldrin, the first selfie taken in space among many other original photographs that are a vintage artistic heritage. Of the 2,400 never before seen space photos, as many as 700 photos put for the auction on Christie’s web-based public sale belong to NASA astronauts from “the golden age of space exploration.” In a press release, the auction center described that the collection is “the most comprehensive private collection of NASA photographs ever presented at auction.”

The online auction hosted by the Christie consists of rare photos of the astronaut Neil Armstrong on the moon next to an American flag for sale, Laika the dog sitting in a space capsule while it became the first animal to orbit the Earth, Aldrin’s selfie with the planet a blue curve behind him, and many other visual milestones of the space program. Some of the photographs are from the early days of Mercury, the technical advances of Gemini and Lunar Orbiter, to the triumphs of Apollo.

The Voyage to Another World achieves collection was never released by NASA at the time of missions and is worth £800 to £30,000. Until they were put for sale by the auction center, the unreleased photographs were accessible only to accredited researchers in the archives of the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston. 

Mankind’s first journey

“The collection has been meticulously assembled over the course of 15 years by Victor Martin-Malburet and includes a corresponding catalog which, thanks to the mission transcripts made available by NASA, retraces mankind’s first journey to another world step by step,” Christie’s informed in the release. It added, “Together with the photographs and catalog, capture the sights and conversations of these defining moments, allowing collectors to share the excitement and magic of space travel.”The collection flaunts extraordinary photographs many of which were taken for the first time in the space. This includes images of the Earth from space, alongside those of the lunar surface, the dark side of the Moon, spacewalks, moonwalks, and the first space selfie.

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“The astronauts are often portrayed as great scientists and heroes, but rarely are they hailed as some of the most significant photographers of all time,” Victor Martin-Malburet said in a release. "The early pioneers of Mercury and Gemini were given as a canvas space and the Earth; the Apollo astronauts an alien world,” he added.

The astronauts were able to capture the iconic photos from their space capsules and EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units) with “skill and dare”, according to Victor Martin-Malburet. The rare photographs “embraced the iconography of the sublime, inspiring awe and wonder,” Martin-Malburet added. Voyage to Another World Part I is open for bidding from November 6 to November 19. 

[First photograph of the backside of the Moon, October 7, 1959. Credit: Christie's auction center press release]

[First US Spacewalk, Ed White’s EVA over Texas, June 3-7, 1965. Credit: Christie's auction center press release]

[First self-portrait in space, November 11-15, 1966. Credit: Christie's auction center press release]

[The first human-taken photograph of Earthrise, December 21-27, 1968. Credit: Christie's auction center press release]

[The only photograph of Neil Armstrong on the Moon, July 16-24, 1969. Credit: Christie's auction center press release]

[Early views of Earth including the largest hitherto photographed from space; scientist Clyde Holliday; the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, July 1948-October 1954. Credit: Christie's auction center site]

[Birth of NASA: Wernher von Braun visiting President Eisenhower; the Original Seven Project Mercury astronauts; first TV images from space, January 1959-April 1960. Credit: Christie's auction center site]

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