[NASA]. A group of 11 photographs related to the Apollo 12 mission. 1969.

8 x 10 in. 11 black and white and color photographs. Provenance: Acquired Heritage Auction Galleries, 11 May 2018, sale 6195 lot 50506.

The Apollo 12 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on 14 November 1969; it was the second to make a successful landing on the Moon. On board were astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean. Conrad, who at 5 feet, 6 inches was the shortest man in the Apollo program, famously quipped when stepping onto the lunar surface, “That may have been a small one for Neil, but it was a long one for me!” Unbeknownst to NASA, Conrad had made a $500 bet with Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci that he would say these words, as Fallaci had suggested that NASA had fed Armstrong’s famous “One small step for man…” quote to him before the Apollo 11 landing.