It will soon be possible to own particles of lunar dust collected by Neil Armstrong during the first trip to the Moon in 1969, but you will have to open the wallet to obtain them.
The sample is extremely rare since it is the only one from the Apollo 11 mission that can be legally sold, explained to CNN Bonhams auction house.
AFP
Neil Armstrong on the first trip to the Moon in 1969
The lunar dust has been estimated between $800,000 and $1.2 million, a difficult assessment to make due to the rarity of the thing. The importance of the historic event obviously played on the price.
“I think that estimate gives him a sense of importance,” Bonhams specialist Adam Stackhouse told the media. But it’s really hard to say where it will sell.”
Several people have already expressed their interest in this piece of history, which will be sold in mid-April. Especially since this relic of the mission has come a long way before arriving at this sale.
Neil Armstrong had brought the bag of lunar dust back to Earth and given it to NASA, which lost it after loaning it to a museum.
It reappeared, however, in a seizure when a space museum director was convicted of theft and fraud.
Illinois resident Lee Carlson got her hands on it at auction for $995. In order to identify its origin, the American decided to send it to NASA, which refused to return the bag to her because of its importance.
A lawsuit ensued between the space agency and Mme Carlson, a judgment which was won by the individual who was able to leave with this lunar dust. The bag that contained it was sold separately in 2017 for the value of $1.8 million.
Mme Carlson is therefore now looking to sell five metal parts that are covered in this famous dust.
Other objects belonging to the space universe will also be available for sale, in particular a fragment of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite launched into Earth orbit by the Soviet Union in 1957, or a map of the Moon signed by 15 Apollo astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.