Triptych: the first humans departing to the surface of another world posing for a photograph before the mission, July 1969

Three vintage chromogenic prints on fiber-based paper, printed 1969, numbered "NASA S-69-31741", "NASA S-69-31742", "NASA S-69-31743"in red or black in top margin, with "A KODAK PAPER" watermark on verso, the second with NASA caption (NASA MSC) on verso, each 20,3 x 25,4 cm, 2 prints with light crease in the upper right corner, (3)

The complete series of individual official NASA portraits of the most famous crew in the history of space exploration, Apollo 11.

While Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot, orbited the Moon on board Columbia, Neil Armstrong, Commander, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot, descended to the lunar surface on board Eagle and became the first humans to walk on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969, a turning point in the history of our species.

The mission of Apollo 11’s crew was the dramatic end to a massive effort. Though trained to be self-reliant, they had the support of a huge team. Altogether it took the work of some 350,000 people to launch their mission.

“Aldrin was a life given over to good physical condition, a form of grace... Armstrong was a high priest of the forces of society and scientific history... Collins was cool... The living spirit of good and graceful manners... The man everybody was glad to see at a party” (Norman Mailer for Life Magazine, p.82).

“I wasn’t chosen to be first. I was just chosen to command that flight. Circumstance put me in that particular role. That wasn’t planned by anyone.”
Neil Armstrong (2005 interview with CBS)

Literature:
Newsweek, 21 July 1969, cover (first photograph); Voices from the Moon, Chaikin, p.XVI.
The complete series of individual official NASA portraits of the most famous crew in the history of space exploration, Apollo 11.