Neil A. Armstrong
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 11, July 16–24, 1969

Mission: Apollo-Saturn 11, July 16–24, 1969

Public Domain

Mission: Apollo-Saturn 11, July 16–24, 1969
ArtistAmerican, 1930–2012
PrinterAmerican, born 1953
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Mission: Apollo-Saturn 11, July 16–24, 1969
  • This mission achieved the first landing on the Moon. The picture depicts Neil Armstrong’s boot and the print left after the first step on the lunar surface. The crew members were Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins.
  • from the portfolio NASA: A Quarter Century of Space Exploration
DateJuly 16–24, 1969, printed 1991
Place depictedMoon
MediumDye imbibition print
DimensionsImage: 16 × 16 5/16 in. (40.7 × 41.4 cm)
Sheet: 18 7/8 × 18 1/8 in. (48 × 46 cm)
Mat: 26 × 21 15/16 in. (66 × 55.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Target Collection of American Photography, museum purchase funded by Target Stores
Object number93.199.9
Not on view

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Department
Photography
Object Type
DescriptionEight
years after President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to send U.S. astronauts to the
moon, the crew of Apollo 11 climbed down the ladder of the Eagle, the lunar
module, to the moon’s surface. Both Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz”
Aldrin, Jr., discovered that being on the moon and moving in one-sixth gravity was
an exhilarating experience. Aldrin described himself as “buoyant and full of
goose pimples.” Because the moon’s surface is fine and powdery, both Aldrin and
Armstrong were able to leave clear footprints, which Armstrong recorded in
several photographs.

Provenance[Robert Mann Gallery, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1993.
Exhibition History"Quest for the Moon and Other Stories: Four Decades of Astronauts in Space," Shell and the American Landscape Museum, Houston, March 6–May 29, 2001.

The Moon: 'Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle Has Landed'," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 27, 2009–January 10, 2010.

"Shooting the Moon: Photographs from the Museum's Collection 50 Years after Apollo 11," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 20–September 2, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Inscribed in black ink, lower left corner below image: "29/1000", lower right corner below image: "# 9"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Mission: Apollo-Saturn 11, July 16–24, 1969
Neil A. Armstrong
July 16–24, 1969, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.10
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 16, April 16–27, 1972
Charles M. Duke, Jr.
April 16–27, 1972, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.16
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 17: Earth with the continent of Africa clearly depicted, on the last United States lunar voyage.
Eugene A. Cernan
December 7–19, 1972, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.17
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 9: Lunar module, "Spider," Orbiting the Earth.
David R. Scott
March 3–13, 1969, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.8
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 14, January 31– February 9, 1971
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
January 31– February 9, 1971, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.15
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 14: Alan B. Shepard, Jr. plants American flag on the moon
Edgar D. Mitchell
January 31– February 9, 1971, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.14
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 12: Alan L. Bean collecting lunar samples during second lunar landing
Charles P. "Pete" Conrad
November 14–24, 1969, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.12
Mission: Apollo-Saturn 14, January 31–February 9, 1971: Lunar module, Antares, on lunar surface
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
January 31–February 9, 1971, printed 1991
Dye imbibition print
93.199.26
Neil A. Armstrong
1969
Chromogenic print
71.26