North American Aviat: Through the Eyepiece, The Moon
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Cartographer:
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North American Aviat
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Title:
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Through the Eyepiece, The Moon
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Date:
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c. 1963
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Published:
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California
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Width:
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30 inches / 77 cm
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Height:
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25 inches / 64 cm
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Map ref:
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CELEST1136
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Description:
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Highly detailed photo-mosaic of the near-side of the moon shown in two halves. Published by the Aero-Space Laboratories at North American Aviation Inc.
The moon flanks a listing of named physical formations and craters, numbered in red. Comparative scientific data, including magnitude, temperature, distance, weights and orbit, runs along the lower edge of the map.
This piece of promotional ephemera was published 6 years before man landed on the moon by Aero-Space Laboratories for the Missile Division at North American Aviation Inc. (N. A. A.). The data for the map was provided by Dr. A. E. Whitford (1905-2022) of Lick Observatory in California, who made available the original photograph plates of the moon by astrophysicist Joseph Moore and talented photographer Fred Chappell.
The N. A. A. was founded in 1928 and was responsible for the manufacturing of many U. S. aviation icons, including the B-52 Mitchell bomber, the P-51 Mustang fighter and the T-6 Texan training aircraft.
In 1960, the N. A. A.’s operation began to focus on the space program, following their involvement and building the tester boosters for the launch escape system on Project Mercury (1959). They soon became one of the main contractors for NASA, building the Apollo Program command and service module which successfully landed astronauts on the moon (1969-72), and the second stage of the multi-stage Saturn V rocket (in action from 1967-1973).
Printed colour. Backed on archival linen. (SL) [CELEST1136] |