Space Mission
Apollo 17, 7-19 December 1972, EVA 1
Photographer
Eugene Cernan
Photo Description
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper, [NASA photo No AS17-134-20384, originally shot on colour film], 25,4 x 20,3 cm (10 x 8 in), BLACK NUMBERED NASA AS17-134-20384 with NASA caption on verso (NASA Manned Spacecraft Center)
Essay
“I captured the Earth, the Moon, the man, and the country all in one. I’m proud of this picture.”
– Eugene Cernan
Harrison Schmitt stands at Taurus Littrow Base with the reflection of his photographer and the US flag in his gold plated visor.
The flag points toward the fragile image of the Earth, visible against the blackness of space. The South Massif is in the background. NASA chief of photography Richard “Dick” Underwood described the photograph as “one of the great photos ever to come out of the space program” (NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History).