Neil Armstrong Signed Apollo 11 ‘Earthrise’ Photograph.

[ARMSTRONG, Neil].

Item Number: 142551

Official NASA color photograph of the iconic ‘Earthrise‘ image taken during the Apollo 11 mission, signed by the first man to set foot on the lunar surface, Neil Armstrong. Signed by Armstrong in the lower right corner of the photograph, “Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11.” The back of the photograph bears the purple NASA caption text, “Apollo 11 View of Earth Rise – This view of the Earth rising over the Moon’s horizon was taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The lunar terrain pictured is the area of Smyth’s Sea on the nearside. Coordinates of the center of the terrain are 35 degrees east longitude and 2 degrees north latitude” and “This Paper Manufactured by Kodak” watermarks. In fine condition. The photograph measures 8 inches by 10 inches. 

The first man to walk on the Moon, American astronaut and aeronautical engineer Neil Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. He made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot David Scott, he performed the first docking of two spacecraft; the mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to stabilize a dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for Armstrong's second and last spaceflight as commander of Apollo 11, he had to eject from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle moments before a crash. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon, and the next day they spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the mission's command module. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and Armstrong and his former crewmates received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.