Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Charlie Duke Signed Photograph of the Phoenix Lander on Mars

About the Item

Presented is a photograph of the Phoenix Lander on Mars, signed and inscribed by Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke. In the inscription, Duke shares his thoughts of exploring the red planet as the next step in space exploration. Written in black felt tip, Duke writes in full, "The challenge of Mars is going to be tremendous! To think about going there and building a station on Mars is going to be a challenging endeavor and I think we can do it. The human spirit wants to go to Mars and go out and explore. It will be another small step for man and another giant leap for mankind! Charlie Duke, Apollo 11 Capcom, Apollo 16 Moonwalker." The goals of the Phoenix Mars Lander were to study the history of water in the Martian arctic, search for evidence of a habitable zone, and assess the biological potential of the planet. Launched on August 4, 2007, the Phoenix landed at the northern pole of the red planet and studied the Martian soil. Phoenix completed its three-month mission in August of 2008; the lander worked for two additional months before reduced sunlight caused energy to become insufficient to keep the lander functioning. Phoenix's study of Mars resulted in a long list of revolutionary discoveries about the planet. One of the most notable came on July 31, 2008, when the spacecraft confirmed the presence of water ice on Mars after successfully collecting a soil sample containing ice from a trench. The historic discovery marked the first time water was sampled on the Red Planet. The Phoenix also found snow, and was able to determine snow was part of the hydrological cycle on Mars. Charles “Charlie” Duke was a fighter pilot, U.S. Air Force Officer, and astronaut. Duke served as Lunar Module Pilot during the Apollo 16 mission, aimed to answer broad questions about the Moon’s surface by inspecting sample materials, conducting experiments, and completing photographic tasks from lunar orbit. Duke was known even before he stepped foot on the Moon, as he was employed as a Mission Control specialist in Houston where the world heard Duke’s distinctive voice during the Apollo 11 Mission: “Roger, Twank...Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot!” After Duke piloted Apollo 16, he stayed with NASA and remained the back-up pilot for Apollo 17. Duke retired in 1976 and earned the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. CONDITION: Very good condition. Satin finish photograph. Inscription is in black felt tip pen. Inscription is legible and not smudged. Photograph Dimensions: 16"H x 20"W. Framed according to highest archival standards with Conservation Clear UV Glass and a custom built wooden frame.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Width: 21.25 in (53.98 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    2008
  • Condition:
    Additions or alterations made to the original: Framed to the highest archival standards in June of 2022 by Rio Grande Framing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Colorado Springs, CO
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: AS1951stDibs: LU909730049092

More From This Seller

View All
Charlie Duke Signed Photograph of Apollo 16 Moonwalk
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is an Apollo 16 mission photograph, signed and inscribed by Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke. The photograph shows Duke collecting lunar samples n...
Category

Vintage 1970s American Modern Photography

Materials

Paper

Solheim Cup Matches U.S. & European Team Signed Photo & Flag, 2009
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is an autographed collage celebrating the women golfers of the 2009 Solheim Cup U.S. and European teams. The 11th Solheim Cup Matches were held Au...
Category

Early 2000s American Sports Equipment and Memorabilia

Materials

Fabric, Paper

Original Edward S. Curtis Photogravure, "The Klamath Hunter" 1923
By Edward S. Curtis, 1868-1952
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is a beautiful photogravure showing a Klamath man hunting from a dugout canoe. This image is Plate 458 from Volume 13 of Edward Curtis' epic project The North American Indian. The photogravure was published in 1923 by Suffolk Engr. Co., in Cambridge, MA. The Klamath people are from the inland region of Northern California and Southern Oregon. Their oral history records the volcanic eruption that created Crater Lake over 7000 years ago Edward S. Curtis created one of the most enduring and iconic visual records in the history of the photographic medium. He was an award-winning artist, a consummate craftsman, a visionary, an intrepid entrepreneur, and was highly regarded as a respected ethnographer and publisher. Curtis began photographing Native Americans in the mid-1890s and selling these images in his successful downtown Seattle studio. One of his earliest models was Princess Angeline, the aged daughter of chief Sealth, the Suquamish Indian after whom Seattle is named. At the National Photographic Convention of 1899 Curtis was awarded the grand prize for three of his soft-focused, sepia-toned images of Puget Sound Native Americans: Evening on the Sound, The Clam Digger, and The Mussel Gatherer. Curtis spent the summer of 1900 with George Bird Grinnell observing the Sun Dance at an encampment of Blood, Blackfeet, and Algonquin in Montana. This was a pivotal experience for Curtis, confirming his desire to study and photograph the Native tribes of North America. A trip to visit the Hopi reservation in Arizona a few months later further fueled his enthusiasm. Curtis envisioned a plan to create a massive scholarly and artistic work that would document the tribes west of the Mississippi, their ceremonies, beliefs, daily life, and landscapes. In 1906, Curtis approached railroad tycoon J.P. Morgan to request financial assistance for his project. Morgan agreed to pay him a total of $75,000, or $15,000 a year for five years. Morgan and Curtis decided that Curtis' masterwork, The North American Indian, would be a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic text illustrated with high quality photoengravings taken from his glass plate negatives. Each of these volumes would be accompanied by a portfolio of large size images, all sumptuously bound in Moroccan leather. The papers used for printing would also be of the best quality: a Dutch etching stock by Van Gelder, a Japanese vellum, and for the most discerning subscribers, a translucent Japanese tissue paper. To fund publication, Curtis would sell subscriptions at approximately $3,000 per set, with a total of 500 sets to be published. An ambitious and extensive project, Curtis spent much of his life documenting as many Native tribes as possible. The importance and the urgency of the task was clear to him, as he wrote in the introduction to his first volume of The North American Indians in 1907, "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." In 1930, some 24 years after his initial request for funding, the last two volumes, Vol. 19 and Vol. 20, were published and The North American Indian project was finally completed. Curtis took over 40,000 photographs and made over 10,000 wax cylinder...
Category

Vintage 1920s American Photography

Materials

Paper

Seven Falls Colorado Springs Antique Photographic Postcard, circa 1880
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is an antique photographic postcard of Seven Falls, Colorado, from 1880. Postcard production blossomed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as railroads opened up much of the Western frontier to new and exciting travel opportunities. Seven Falls is one of Colorado’s most captivating natural wonders. Located at the base of the Front Range, this magnificent series of waterfalls is situated in a 1,250-foot-wall box canyon between the towering Pillars of Hercules and boasts a 181-foot drop of falling water. Seven Falls was originally part of land given to Nathan Colby in 1872 as part of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act granted 160 acres of surveyed land to pioneers in the west, with claimants required to “improve” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. Mr. Colby promptly sold the track of land to James Hull...
Category

Antique 1880s American Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Paper

James Doolittle Signed Typed Letter and Signed Photograph, 1969
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is a typed letter signed by famous pilot General James H. Doolittle. The one page letter, dated July 3, 1969 is addressed to Gary Lorentz and articulates what Doolittle bel...
Category

Vintage 1960s Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Paper

The Battles of America by Sea and Land by Robert Tomes and John Laird Wilson
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Tomes, Robert and John Laird Wilson. The Battles of America by Sea and Land. New York: Patterson & Neilson, 1878. Thick quarto three volume set. Original full leather boards, embosse...
Category

Antique 1870s American Victorian Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

You May Also Like

Window on Sedona Living in the Land of the Red Rocks by Dottie Webster Book
Located in North Hollywood, CA
A Window on Sedona: Living in the Land of the Red Rocks by Dottie Webster. 1st Edition. If eyes are the "window of the soul," then windows are the eyes of our houses. In Sedona, t...
Category

20th Century American Folk Art Books

Materials

Paper

Duke of Edinburgh’s World tour 1959 on HM Yacht Britannia
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
Duke of Edinburgh’s World tour 1959 on HM Yacht Britannia, a fascinating photographic record of the Duke’s visit to numerous destinations between Rango...
Category

Vintage 1950s British Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Paper

Framed and Signed Photograph of Buck Jones
Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
Matted and framed photo of Buck Jones with note "Best Wishes Buck Jones and Silver." Period: Last half 19th century Origin: California Size: 5" x 7" frame 13" x 15" Family Owned & Operated Cisco’s Gallery deals in the rare, exceptional, and one-of-a-kind pieces that define the history of America and the Old West. Our pieces range from American Indian to Cowboy Western and include original items of everyday life, commerce, art, and warfare that tamed America’s frontier. Our 14,000 square foot gallery opened in 1996 in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Personal Service Cisco’s operates on old fashioned values – honesty and integrity, and all of our items are backed by our money back guarantee. We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business. Whether you desire assistance with a jewelry purchase, choosing a gift, identification, or even selling – we hope to be your trusted source. Black and white, films...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Photography

Materials

Art Glass

The Land and People of Morocco by William Spencer, 1973
Located in North Hollywood, CA
The land and people of Morocco (Portraits of the nations series) Hardcover – January 1, 1973 by William Spencer (Author) Introduces the land, histo...
Category

20th Century Moroccan Moorish Books

Materials

Paper

Framed and Signed Photograph of Jerry McCree and Junio
Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
Signed studio photo with original signature "To Claire - In appreciation of all you have done. Your two friends - Jerry McCree and Junior". Period: First half 20th century Origin: H...
Category

Vintage 1910s American Photography

Materials

Art Glass

Fred Herzog, Vancouver Photographs by Fred Herzog, Signed Edition
Located in valatie, NY
Fred Herzog: Vancouver Photographs by Fred Herzog. Signed Edition exhibition catalog (Vancouver Art Gallery January 25-May 13, 2007). 160 pages with numerous color photographs throughout. "Iconic and influential color images of Vancouver street life from a master photographer who has spent the past fifty years documenting the city, published to coincide with a major exhibition of his work. His eye dwells on the raw urban underbelly of the city: second-hand shops, vacant lots, barber shops and greasy spoons, crowded with people and their stuttering dreams. Since he arrived in Vancouver from Germany in 1953, Fred Herzog has roamed the city's back streets with his camera. Herzog draws upon documentary traditions while incorporating an outsider's sensitivity to a new environment. His color images of street life in the 1950s and '60s prefigure the "New Color" of photographers such as Stephen Shore and William Eggleston. The text includes essays by Grant Arnold...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Books

Materials

Paper

Recently Viewed

View All