NASA

Lot 143
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Estimation :
600 - 800 EUR
NASA
NASA. LARGE FORMAT. APOLLO 17 Mission. At Station 6 of the Apollo 17 mission, the astronauts found a large rock that had rolled off the side of the North Range. During the half hour the astronauts spent near the boulder, Schmitt demonstrated the benefits of sending a professional geologist to the Moon. The boulder contained two distinct rock types: a blue-gray breccia in contact with a light beige, fine matrix breccia. By examining the contact area between the two rock types, Schmitt was able to determine that the tan rock had picked up the blue-gray rock during a major shock (a meteorite impact) and determined that this event was likely the same one that created the Serenitatis Basin (for more information on Schmitt's thought process regarding this conclusion, read his commentary on the subject). This evidence suggests that the Northern Massif was created by the impact that created the basin. While Schmitt was studying the boulder, Cernan was moving around and collecting samples. In doing so, he discovered a plateau on one side of the boulder that was covered with dust, which he sampled. The evidence of Cernan's sampling was clear in the photograph taken of the site, and after the mission, Cernan wished he had written his daughter's name in the dust on the shelf. From then on, the rock became known as Tracy's Rock in honor of Cernan's daughter. December 11, 1972. Later chromogenic print. Numbering in the margin on the front. Legend on label on back. 40.6 x 40.6 cm with margins.
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