


The Massachusetts auction house says "The Beauty of Space" is the first-ever U.S. auction to focus solely on vintage photographs produced by NASA astronauts during the heyday of lunar exploration, from 1961 to 1972. The auction goes live on Thursday and runs through Nov. 2.


"While the astronauts' primary goal was to record their activities, they were inspired by what they witnessed, creating images that transcend documentation," she said.





Among the standout photos is a 1962 image by John Glenn of the sun illuminating the Earth. It's the first photo of the planet taken by a human from space.

There's also Buzz Aldrin's 1969 picture of the first footprint on lunar soil (his own) as well as his colleague Neil Armstrong's famous "visor" photo from that same Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong's photo captures Aldrin on the moon's surface, his gold-plated sun visor reflecting Armstrong and their lunar module.

And as President Donald Trump's administration promises to return astronauts to the moon, the collection offers a timely memento: a portrait of astronaut Eugene Cernan taking humankind's last stroll on the lunar surface in 1972.