Beschreibung:

[Apollo 16] The ascent stage of the LM Orion returning from the lunar surface. Ken Mattingly, 16–27 April 1972. Printed 1972. Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS16–122-19531]. 20.3×25.4 cm (8×10 in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso, numbered “NASA AS16–122-19531” in red in top margin (NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas), with three filing holes in upper margin not affecting the image. Literature: Time, 15 May 1972, pg. 62 (illustrates variation); Full Moon, Light, pl. 104 (illustrates variation). After more than three days on the Moon’s surface, John Young and Charles Duke in the LM Orion were about to join Ken Mattingly in the CSM Casper in its 53rd orbit for the journey back to Earth. Taken from the CSM Casper looking west with the 80mm lens from an altitude of 110 km, the photograph shows the ascent stage of Orion with a contrasting background of darkness and the Moon’s Sea of Fertility below the LM. Orion is yawing for inspection by Casper before docking. Parts of the LM thermal panels visibly buckled from the stresses of lift-off from the Moon but the damage posed no risk to Young and Duke in their link-up with Casper. Latitude / longitude: 0° N; 47.° E. “That machine (the LM) just flies so nice. It’s just unbelievable! But once you get to ascent stage, it’s really light and responsive. Boy, you fire one of those thrusters and it does exactly what you want it to.” John Young (from the mission transcript at 203:12:21 GET after trans Earth injection). From the mission transcript as the two spacecrafts were closing in for rendezvous (photograph taken at T+177:14:08 after launch): 177:07:40 Young (Orion): Okay. And you’re getting big, Ken. 177:07:45 Duke (Orion): Sure is. Growing like a- 177:07:50 Young (Orion): Okay, we got 2000 feet now, Ken. 177:07:56 Mattingly (Casper): Okay. Man, that looks good. 177:08:02 Young (Orion): What a beautiful machine. [...] 177:09:56 Mattingly (Casper): You look a lot smaller in the daytime. At the same range. 177:10:04 Young (Orion): What a flying machine this is, Ken. Okay, 400 feet; we’re going to 4. 177:10:23 Mattingly (Casper): My, you look good. Your forward firing thrusters look like little flashlights when they fire. 177:10:30 Duke (Orion): Ken, you’re clean. You don’t have a boom out. 177:10:34 Mattingly (Casper): Okay, well, wait until you get back around there and take a look. [...] 177:13:57 Mattingly: Okay. We’re in perfect position to take pictures of the LM right now. All they’ve got to do is to pitch. He prefers to go to the other sequence, is that correct? 177:14:08 Hartsfield (Mission Control): Okay. If you’re in a position to take pictures of the LM we wanted the LM to do a 360-degree yaw, and you’re to take pictures of the - the minus-Z portion of the ascent stage, using the same camera setting that you have on the DAC (16mm camera) and the (Hasselblad) EL, except the focus on the EL should be changed to infinity. Over.
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