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by
Marc Boucher
Apollo Moonwalkers Sell Right Stuff in $1 Million Space Auction, Bloomberg
“Owning something flown on the Apollo lunar missions has always been challenging. However since last September, when the U.S. house passed a resolution granting astronauts clear title to the items they carried into space, it has become a lot easier.”
Auction dates: May 16 to May 23
Previous: NASA’s Inconsistent Policy Regarding The Sale Of Apollo Era Items
Marc Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor, podcaster and publisher who has worked in space media for more than 25 years. In 1999 he co-founded SpaceRef with Keith Cowing. The new media company grew into a network that included NASA Watch and The Astrobiology Web. After selling SpaceRef, he joined Multiverse Media, which later merged with SpaceNews. There he helped steer the combined company toward more multimedia, a subscription paywall and intelligence products, and pushed for a mobile app. He is also the founder of SpaceQ Media, Canada’s space news and market intelligence publication.
Marc started his first Internet content business in 1992 and hasn’t looked back. When he’s not working, he loves exploring Canada and the world and expanding his photography skills.
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There was an auction held over 20 years ago in my hometown, where a mechanic that worked on the sports cars of the astronauts, some were in the Mercury program, had a collection of many items of space memorabilia that the astronauts gave him over the years were up for purchase to the highest bidders. The news media reported there were some tiny amounts of lunar soil samples in the collection.
I decided to go to the auction and there were quite a number of people there. The buzz at the auction facility was the powers that be swooped in and seized the lunar soil samples, but spacesuits, gloves, etc. from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs were not seized and allowed to be sold, and sold for outrageous amounts.
As Keith pointed out in an earlier post, the policy of what can or cannot be sold has been inconsistent. The auction I went to is a prime example. Hopefully, with the resolution passed by the House, the Apollo astronauts, who put their lives on the line, will be left alone and do whatever they want with the items they possess.