J uly 20, 2024 marks the 55th anniversary of humanity’s first steps on another world, the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. In celebration of that historic event, Sotheby’s is thrilled to announce the sale of artifacts directly from the collection of Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin included in our annual Space Exploration sale now open for bidding online through July 18.
In comparison to the Buzz Aldrin: American Icon auction of 2022, which set the records for highest-grossing space auction and most expensive space artifact, this year’s sale includes a suite of crucial documents flown and used on the Apollo 11 mission.
Important items include a Lunar Surface Flown Apollo 11 Checklist Sheet (lot 25) detailing the switch procedures needed after the first and only emergency liftoff drill ever to take place on the moon. Additional lots (28 and 29) include Lunar Surface Flown Lunar Module Checklist Sheets related to the testing of the Rendezvous Radar system (the subject of Buzz Aldrin’s MIT doctoral thesis) – which was key to returning the Lunar Module Eagle to Command Module Columbia to complete the mission and return to Earth – and pages 60-61 of the LM Activation Checklist, which relate to the pressurization of the descent propulsion system – a key step in preparing for the historic landing (lot 30).
Other notable items include a piece of Kapton foil exposed to the vacuum of space on the Command Module Columbia (lot 33), an American flag flown to the moon on Apollo 11 (lot 31) and various covers from Lunar Module Pilot Aldrin’s personal collection, signed by Commander Neil Armstrong and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins (lots 35, 36 and 37).
Explore eight highlights above or check out the full auction.
