Hope, Pride and Nationalism: Footprints on the Moon

Image taken from nasa.gov

Still images over time have a power that moving images, television or video, do not possess, an ability to freeze or stop time.  Susan Sontag wrote, “Photographs may be more memorable than moving images, because they are a neat slice of time, not a flow.” (Sontag p. 17)

One of the still images that changed humanity’s relationship to our world is that of Buzz Aldrin’s bootprint on the surface of the moon, taken by Aldrin on July 20, 1969.  This was the first lunar landing, the first images of human beings on another celestial surface, a source of hope, pride, paranoia, and conspiracy theories.  The astronauts carried television cameras with them as well, but the footage from these does not carry the same “neat slice of time” impact of the still photographs.  The image of the bootprint is human, moving, and the result of years of training, design, calculation and Cold War pressures.

Political Context

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to Congress outlining the goal, “before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” (http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Historic-Speeches.aspx).  Under a great deal of pressure from the successful Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Kennedy framed this mission not in the context of exploration and science but in that of the ongoing struggle of democracy against Communism.  Not only was United States national pride at stake, but the future of the free world.

Developing the Camera

Image taken from hasselbladusa.com

Earlier space missions had employed photography, but never to the extent that the Apollo 11 mission did.  NASA had first begun to understand the potential for photography to document their missions when astronaut Walter Schirra brought his personal Hasselblad 500C on the Mercury 8 mission in 1962.  Since then, NASA had been working with Hasselblad to build a camera to meet the specific requirements of space missions (http://sterileeye.com/2009/07/23/the-apollo-11-hasselblad-cameras/).  The result of this research was the Hasselblad 500 EL electric camera, which featured motorized winding of the film and shutter tension and was used for taking photographs from inside the lunar module.  For the surface photographs, the 500 EL Lunar Data camera was designed (http://sterileeye.com/2009/07/23/the-apollo-11-hasselblad-cameras/). 

The camera needed to be easily usable by astronauts in space suits with bulky gloves and helmets, and needed to be functional in a space environment, with temperatures ranging from 120 degrees C in the sun to -65 degrees C in the shadow.  Conventional lubricants would degrade in the vacuum (http://sterileeye.com/2009/07/23/the-apollo-11-hasselblad-cameras/).

A chest pack was built to hold the camera in a functional position on an astronaut’s chest (http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/apollo.photechnqs1.pdf).  The bracket had the dual purpose of supporting the camera and allowing the astronaut to operate it with both hands.  The camera was also fitted with a trigger, and painted matte silver to minimize its absorption of heat and maintain a constant temperature inside it.  This is unique to the Lunar Data Camera, as the other models of early cameras were painted black to minimize distortion caused by solar reflection (http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/apollo.photechnqs1.pdf).  

Neil Armstrong training with the Hasselblad 500 EL.  Image taken from  projekarka.wordpress.com

Space and space flight create extreme conditions, and the camera had to withstand these conditions and not endanger the safety of the astronauts.  The camera was required to meet specifications regarding acceleration, shock, air pressure variation, temperature range, solar flare radiation and the possibility of 100% relative humidity.  The electrically-driven camera had to function in a high-oxygen environment without generating a single spark (http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/apollo.photechnqs1.pdf), and so was modified to prevent the accumulation of static electricity in the film and between internal components (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html). 

The 500 EL Camera did not have a viewfinder, which would have been of little use to an astronaut wearing a helmet which restricted motion.  The lens was equipped with a basic sight which enabled the operator to point it in the right direction.  Because the camera was largely automated, the most important photographic training was in aiming it, which the astronaut achieved by aiming his entire body.  Accuracy was difficult to achieve.  The astronauts visited such places as Arizona and Nevada outfitted almost as they would be on the mission itself, including similar cameras.  (http://history.nasa.gov/apollo_photo.html).

The camera was equipped with a special lens with a focal length of 60 mm and a Reseau plate, a glass plate marked with crosses which transfer to the film and allow accurate measurement of objects from the photograph.  However, there exists some disagreement about how useful these crosshairs actually are for measuring distance (http://www.clavius.org/photoret.html).  The focusing system had a relatively large depth of field, meaning the astronaut only had to approximate the focusing distance and could still obtain a sharp image (http://sterileeye.com/2009/07/23/the-apollo-11-hasselblad-cameras/).  

Much about this image suggests spontaneity, a human touch.  It is as if in the midst of collecting lunar samples and other scientific endeavors, Aldrin thought, “Hey, I’ll take a quick shot of my own footprint.”  It is an intensely human photograph, telling a story of our desire to leave a mark, to immortalize our experience, to say “We were here.  On the moon!”  However, extensive training, preparation and development went into the creation of this photograph.  According to the Lunar Planetary Institute, Aldrin took the photograph to “permit later study of the lunar surface bearing strength” (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/photography/).  In other words, motivated by scientific study rather than human interest, an argument I find difficult fully to believe.  Scientific exploration was only one facet of the mission to send a man to the moon.  At stake also were Cold War politics, national pride and President Kennedy’s need for an ambitious yet achievable goal.

I chose this photograph because I believe it is a remarkable example of calculation, artistry, psychology, war and nationalism.  It is a deeply moving photograph, more so now that NASA has dismantled its efforts to send explorers further into space.  It serves as an emblem of what we are capable of, and is a symbol of hope as well – if we can accomplish this in such a divided world, imagine what we could do if we cooperated.  It encompasses the “us” of Americans, and the “us” of the human race.  

According to Hasselblad and NASA, only the film magazines themselves were brought back to Earth after the missions.  The cameras used on the moon remain on the moon (http://history.nasa.gov/apollo_photo.html, http://www.hasselbladusa.com/about-hasselblad/hasselblad-in-space/space-cameras.aspx).  This decision to leave the equipment itself but bring back its precious contents suggests a self-consciousness, an awareness of the historic nature of the mission and a desire to maximize impact.  It secured a place in history for the cameras as well as the photographs and the mission itself.

The calculation behind this photograph and its availability to us in no way diminishes its psychological and emotional impact.  There are a number of still photographs from the Apollo 11 mission and the first steps taken by Armstrong and Aldrin, but I find this, the single bootprint, to be the most arresting and the most iconic.  Its composition and framing are simple, there is no “edge” of the moon or glimpse of a familiar yet alien sky, it is not a magnificent photograph.  It is humble, and its power resides in its humility and simplicity.  From the time we are children, stepping in mud or fingerpainting, we learn about making marks with our bodies.  The single footprint touches something primitive inside.

The images brought back from this historic voyage were not taken on the spur of the moment but calculatedly, in the awareness that they would live on in the collective human memory (and presumably on the surface of the moon as well, because there is no wind to blow the bootprint away).  The extensive photographic training in the astronauts’ preparation, as well as the work that went into designing the cameras, shows that NASA and the government understood the importance and power of the image, and decided to use it to great effect.

Works Cited

Derr, Albert J. (1981.) Photography Equipment and Techniques: A Survey of NASA    Developments.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.history.nasa.gov.

Hasselblad.  (Date unknown.) Space Cameras.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.hasselbladusa.com.

John F. Kennedy Presidential LIbrary and Museum. (Date unknown.) Historic Speeches.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.jfklibrary.org.

Lunar and Planetary Institute.  (Date Unknown.)  Apollo 11 Mission: Mission Photography.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.lpi.usra.edu

Moon Base Clavius (Date Unknown).  Photography: Crosshairs.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.clavius.org.

Oystein (2009 July 23.) The Apollo 11 Hasselblad Cameras.  Retrieved April 8, 2013 from www.sterileeye.com.

Sontag, Susan.  (1977) On Photography, p. 17.