[APOLLO 11]. FLOWN APOLLO 11 COMMAND MODULE SKIN FRAGMENT. WITH TYPED LETTER SIGNED BY BUZZ ALDRIN

ORIGINALLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE PILOT BUZZ ALDRIN

FLOWN APOLLO 11 COMMAND MODULE SKIN FRAGMENT

An approximately 1/4 by 3/4 inch FLOWN mylar segment mounted on an 8 1/2 by 1 inch Typed Letter Signed by BUZZ ALDRIN. 

This Mylar foil material served as a thermal protection layer on the very outer surface of the Command Module Columbia. It was exposed to the vacuum of space for some 195 hours including almost 60 hours in lunar orbit, and traveled over 500,000 miles. 

BUZZ ALDRIN'S letter reads, in part: "This segment of Mylar insulation was removed from the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia after splashdown by NASA recovery personnel back in July 1969. It was presented to me as a memento from the flight...

Some 22 hours after landing Neil and I lifted off the lunar surface to return to Mike Collins in Columbia. Later that same day, we released Eagle's remaining Ascent Stage, and performed the long engine burn with Columbia's Service Propulsion System to begin our journey home.

This Mylar experienced the searing heat of re-entry into the earth's atmosphere on July 24, 1969. Most of the Mylar coating burned off during this period, but some parts remained, as displayed on this letter."