Celestial table globe - Inflatable Moon Globe - 1960-1970

Inflatable lunar globe, Plasteco Milano Senago, Italy, circa 1969

This inflatable lunar globe measures about 30 centimeters in diameter. It marks the landing sites of several probes, including Ranger 6 and 8, Luna 5 through 13, Surveyor 1 through 6, and Orbiter 1 through 5. It also bears the Apollo 12 site, which landed in November 1969. It was therefore designed shortly after that date. The context is the space race. The far side of the Moon had only been photographed in 1959 by the Soviet probe Luna 3. The names found there, such as Mare Moscoviense or Tsiolkovsky, recall the role of Soviet explorers.

The globe is made of polyvinyl chloride sheets, cut into thermo-welded strips. Each pole carries a circular cap, and the inflation valve is placed at the South Pole. It is surrounded by the brand “Plasteco Milano Senago, Made in Italy.” The surface is printed in color. The seas, in green, stand out against the ochre and yellow highlands, whose relief is suggested by small brown shadows. The craters are outlined in brown. A black graticule marks the meridians and parallels, with degree markings. The toponymy combines Latin, Italian, and English: “North Pole,” “Golfo d. Astronauti,” but also “Soviet Mountains” or “Haemus Mounts.”

This globe extends an Italian tradition of inflatable objects. It goes back at least to the 1930s, with Milan’s pneumatically inflated globes, sold as a cheap substitute for the school instrument. It also belongs to the history of planetary cartography intended for the general public.

Fragile by nature, this type of object has become rare. A few signs of wear. No holes or tears. The balloon deflates very slowly, over several weeks.