A wall map of the Moon in preparation for the Lunar Landing

A huge map of the moon using an orthographic projection (i.e., as a sphere viewed from an infinite distance), compiled from hundreds of photographs, created during NASA's planning of the first Lunar Landing, that of Apollo 11 in 1969. The first 'USAF Lunar Reference Mosaic' was published in 1960 in two scales, 1:10 million & 1: 5 million, but recompiled with improved photographic imagery in 1962, and issued with a third, larger scale, 1:2.5 million, as the Wall Mosaic (LEM-1B). This example is a second edition of the third, printed in blue and grey on a black background. Such is the size that the moon's diameter measures 1.39 metres. It was the USAF rather than NASA that produced the map because the project started before NASA was created in 1958. The condition of this example is superb, with no damage or stains, with unfaded colour.