John Glenn (1921–2016)
“Sunset. Mercury 6, 1962”
Digital chromogenic print, 1962
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Photography Collection
“Sunset. Mercury 6, 1962”
On February 20, 1962, Lt. Col. John Glenn, a United States Marine naval aviator, became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling the planet three times in just under five hours. The flight was the culmination of Project Mercury, a program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to place a piloted spacecraft into orbital flight.
Glenn completed numerous scientific and technical assignments during his mission. He also used an inexpensive 35mm camera that he purchased from a drugstore in Cocoa Beach, Florida, to take several photographs of the Earth through the porthole window of his Friendship 7 capsule. The resulting images—the first human-captured, color pictures of our planet—paved the way for future photographic experiments on American spaceflights.
: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Photogra…
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
