Ever wanted to own something that once flew across the galaxy? Obviously.
Today, Thursday June 25, Boston-based RR Auction will be holding a live auction at 1 p.m. at The Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. The auction features the NASA Collection of Leon Ford, who according to the site Collect Space is “a commercial photographer whose passion for space exploration led him to befriend other collectors and astronauts alike.”
Last night, the company also hosted a fundraiser to benefit the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). Proceeds went directly to ASF in the hopes of supporting a scholarship in the name of Ford, a big supporter of the group who passed away this year.
With more than 100 represented items from the collection, the most desirable item up for grabs is thought to be Charles Conrad’s Apollo 12 lunar surface-worn backpack strap. For an estimated $30,000 to $40,000, you could own the rare backpack strap from Conrad’s Personal Life Support System (PLSS). The third man to walk on the Moon, Conrad used this during both of his moonwalks on the Apollo 12 mission, Nov. 19 through 20, 1965.
Here’s a sampling of what else you could get your hands on (for a small fortune, of course).
- Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 Personal Preference Kit (PPK) – estimated $20,000 to $25,000
- Al Worden’s Apollo 15 American flag beta cloth patch – estimated $15,000 to $20,000
- Commander Charles Conrad’s Skylab 2 flight training suit – estimated $15,000 to $20,000
- Gene Cernan’s flown checklist from his near fatal spacewalk – estimated $10,000 to $15,000
- Mercury and Gemini astronauts signed display – estimated $25,000 to $30,000
- Official lunar planning chart signed by six moonwalkers on their landing sites – estimated $20,000 to $25,000
Photo via RR Auction.
