„Orice comparaţie cu epocile trecute eşuează în faţa faptului că specia noastră a dobândit mijloace să se autoanihileze şi să facă Pământul de nelocuit. (…) În nici o epocă trecută, oricât de frământată, omenirea n-a dispus de mijloacele actuale de a se sinucide ca rasă şi de a interveni în ordinea sistemului solar. (…) Trebuie să abandonăm perspectiva limitată a unei istorii europene şi să gândim în termenii istoriei speciei.”

Arthur Koestler

For All Mankind: Vintage NASA Photographs 1964 – 1983 exhibition comprises an overview of space exploration from 1964 to 1983, providing a comprehensive selection of over 100 rare and vintage NASA photographs. The achievements of NASA and the Apollo programme languished in the popular imagination from the end of the 1970s until the early 2000s, neglected in the wake of previous euphoria. The exploration of Mars, space tourism, the commercial satellite market and China’s recent rover landing on the Moon are clear signals that space exploration is once again at the very forefront of public and, increasingly, private agendas. The exploration of space has likewise renewed its grip on the popular consciousness.

The vintage photographs on display, many of which retain original NASA catalogue stamps on the reverse, were taken by the men, women and machines of NASA over a period of 20 years. They include photographs from the Gemini 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 missions; Apollo 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17; the Mars Viking missions and the Jupiter Voyager missions. They also include historic images such as the world’s first picture of the Earth taken from the vicinity of the Moon (December, 1966), and iconic images such as the ‘Earthrise’ view taken from Apollo 8 and the ‘Blue Marble’, the first ever full Earth view (Apollo 17, December 1972).

Apollo 11 lift-off seen from the top of the launch gantry, Apollo 11, July 1969

Buzz Aldrin’s visor reflects Armstrong, Apollo 11, July 1969

Crescent Earth from 10,000 miles, Apollo 4, November 1967

David Scott and the Lunar Rover, Apollo 15, August 1971

David Scott climbs out of the Command Module, Apollo 9, March 1969

Earthrise, the first ever witnessed by human eyes, Apollo 8, December 1968

Eclipse of the Sun by the Earth, Apollo 12, November 1969

Eugene Cernan and the antenna on the Rover, Apollo 17, December 1972

Florida keys from orbit, Gemini 4, June 1965

James McDivitt, Ed White walking in space over Hawaii, Gemini 4, June 1965

James McDivitt, Ed White walking in space, Gemini 4, June 1965

Jupiter and its satellite Io, Voyager 2, June 1979

Liftoff of the last lunar mission, Apollo 17, December 1972

Owen Garriott working outside the spacecraft, Skylab 3, August 1973

Saturn, Voyager 1, 1980

Space Shuttle STS-1 at Kennedy Space Center, Shuttle, March 1981

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For All Mankind: Vintage NASA Photographs 1964 – 1983
First Floor Gallery, 30b Great Sutton Street
London, EC1V 0DU
Show runs: 22nd January – 22nd February 2014

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