BOSTON – RR Auction will honor the Apollo 11 astronauts, their predecessors and those who made the historic mission possible, and their enduring legacy in manned spaceflight during its current online sale that concludes Thursday, June 20. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
With over 500 lots highlighted by autographs, hardware and flown artifacts, this auction brings to life the history of the space program.
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module ‘Eagle’ touched down on the surface of the moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong descended the spacecraft’s ladder and spoke his immortal words: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Buzz Aldrin soon followed behind him, and the two became the first earthly beings to set foot upon another celestial body.
Included in the sale is an extremely rare 70mm positive film roll from Magazine S of the Apollo 11 Hasselblad camera, containing 126 of the most iconic images from the first lunar-landing mission.
Wound on a yellow Kodak holder and measuring 3.5″ in diameter. The roll features photographs taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin during their historic two-and-a-half-hour lunar extravehicular activity at Tranquility Base with color images including: moments from inside the Lunar Module Eagle immediately prior to Armstrong leaving the spacecraft; Armstrong’s first photograph after taking his historic first steps; Aldrin descending the ladder; Aldrin standing next to the American flag; the famous ‘Moon Man’ image of Aldrin in a full-length pose, his visor showing a reflection of Armstrong; and various bootprint images, shots of the Lunar Module, the lunar plaque, and panoramas of the desolate lunar surface.
Additional Apollo 11 highlights include:
– Apollo 11 flown burn chart signed by Aldrin and Collins.
– A scarce flown American flag carried into lunar orbit during the Apollo 11 mission, signed and flight-certified signed by Command Module Pilot Michael Collins.
– Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 Flown Robbins Medal that he presented to his brother-in-law following the historic mission.
– Apollo 11 signed log book from Richard Nixon’s Air Force One.
Also up for auction is the Jeff Hoffman collection. Hoffman, a former NASA astronaut who made five space flights and become the first astronaut to log 1,000 hours of flight time aboard the Space Shuttle, and is a now a professor at MIT’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department.
The highlight of Hoffman’s collection is his flown sterling silver mezuzah case, and scroll carried on Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-75 from Feb. 22-March 9, 1996. The mezuzah case, which measures 6 inches long, retains the original rolled parchment klaf, or scroll, inside, and is stamped “Israel, 925” on the reverse.
“Since Jeff Hoffman was NASA’s first Jewish male astronaut, this Shuttle-flown religious artifact holds a meaningful place in the history of space travel,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.
The Space Exploration Auction featuring Apollo 11th 50th Anniversary Artifacts began June 13 and will conclude on June 20.
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