Apollo 17 Lift Off Photo Signed by 3 Crew Members to Russian Interpreter

Measuring 19" x 15" (sight), No place, dated December 19, 1972. A large color photograph of the Apollo 17 Lift Off, matted and framed to the overall size of 21" x 25". Signed by Prime crewmembers "Gene Cernan", "Ron Evans", and "Harrison H. Schmitt." Inscribed to NASA Russian instructor-interpreter, Anatole Forostenko, "To Anatole Forostenko with our best wishes to a great friend. Gene/ Ron/ Jack." There is some toning to the mat with additional light soiling and visible adhesive matting tape. Boldly signed by all, although Schmitt's appears slightly lighter due to the color ink he was using. Overall, very attractive. Provenance: From the collection of Anatole Forostenko, Chief Russian Language Instructor-Interpreter for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program. During its 12-day-long mission, Apollo XVII astronauts took measurements, lunar samples, photographs, and completed three moonwalks - Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. The mission focused heavily on science and included several new experiments, including a biological experiment with five mice carried in the command module. Since this mission, no other humans have landed on the moon up to this point.

Dr. Anatole Forostenko (b. 1939) was born in the Soviet Union and moved to the U.S. in 1949. He studied at Rutgers University and Indiana University before gaining his Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. From 1970 to 1973, Forostenko was an Assistant Professor of Russian Language and Literature at the University of California. He then joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1974 and became involved in the Apollo-Soyuz test project. He became the Chief Russian Language Instructor for the NASA astronauts, preparing them to communicate with cosmonauts during the mission, and he worked closely with both crews as instructor-interpreter. Often, he worked in one-on-one situations with General Thomas P. Stafford and Vance Brand. During the Apollo-Soyuz mission, Forostenko served as one of three U.S. Air-to-Ground interpreters at the Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center. Upon completion of the mission, he traveled with the crew members and their families on the post-flight Soviet Good Will Tour and has remained in close contact with those involved.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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