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Several precious pieces of space history were auctioned in New York this week. Sotheby’s space exploration auction on July 15 features several iconic artifacts, including a life-saving pen, flags flown in the icy void of space, and even a piece of the first window-cleaning cloth in space. You can learn more about some of these historical objects in the gallery below.
The feather that saved Apollo II
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin collected samples of rocks and dust from the lunar surface for about three hours. As the pair returned to the Lunar Module to prepare to fly back to Earth, Aldrin pressed the module’s switch with his spacesuit’s life support backpack.
The switch broke and would have killed the three Apollo 11 astronauts if not for Aldrin’s quick thinking. He stuck a pen into the board to create a makeshift switch.
“He could have chosen something that wasn’t very important. But he hit the circuit breaker that controlled the SM engine that returned us to orbit,” Armstrong later told ABC News. “It was just insurance. It’s good to have a little insurance.”
A flag from the first American space walk
Mission Commander Jim McDivitt flew this American flag during Gemini IV. The June 1965 mission was the second manned mission in the Gemini series and included the first American spacewalk.
Command pilot Edward White concluded the spacewalk on June 3, 1965, remaining outside the spacecraft for 21 minutes. McDivitt served as commander of the Gemini IV mission and photographed the first American spacewalk, performed by command pilot Edward White. The Gemini IV flag is a silk stars and stripes flag and is signed and inscribed by McDivitt on the lower two white bars.
In space, even windows need cleaning
This nylon tab was exposed to the vacuum of space during Gemini XII in November 1966. The mission included a spacewalk by Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin used this cloth to clean the window of the spaceship and wipe away a mysterious yellow substance.
Later, NASA cut the fabric into small pieces and tested the substance in different laboratories. It turned out to be the exhaust of the Titan II launch vehicle’s propellant. Aldrin kept the nylon tongue portion of the fabric as a souvenir.
Thermal protection cap from the first trip to the moon
Whether it’s 1966 or 2026, heat shields are crucial for space travel. This plug protected one of the 59 screws securing the aft heat shield to the Apollo 8 command module in December 1968. The mission was humanity’s first trip to the moon and paved the way for a successful landing a year later. Astronaut Bill Anders also took the famous Earthrise photograph during this mission.
When it was time to return home, the crew re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in the rear-facing Command Module first. The bottom of the spacecraft faced the brunt of the friction generated during its descent as it exits space toward the sea. To account for friction, NASA created an ablative heat shield in a welded steel honeycomb structure. The bolts securing this structure to the bottom of the spacecraft were then covered with plugs that protected them from the friction of re-entry.
A symbol of diplomacy
The steps of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon on July 20, 1969 made it clear that the United States won the space race. In the spirit of diplomacy, Aldrin flew a flag of the USSR, as well as the American flag, the state flag of Texas, and the flag of his home state of New Jersey in his personal preferences kit (PPK).
Buzz Aldrin’s provenance letter about the flag says:
“This letter of provenance certifies that the Soviet flag accompanying Apollo 11 was flown to the Moon aboard the command module Columbia. In July 1969, I landed on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 crew. As an act of diplomacy and to help commemorate this historic milestone, I chose to personally carry the accompanying 4-by-6-inch Soviet flag in my Personal Preferences Kit (PPK). Carrying this flag was a gesture of goodwill between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, as well as a demonstration that Apollo 11 was a human achievement that transcended nations.”
Gordon Cooper’s glove
This A7-L glove was made for astronaut Gordon Cooper and was probably used in training. The aerospace division of the International Latex Corporation (later called ILC Dover) has been the designer and producer of the pressurized spacesuit garment for NASA since the Apollo program began. Every American astronaut who has gone to space since then has traveled in a Dover ILC suit. Each complete suit took about 5,000 hours to complete and cost approximately $1,000,000 to produce.
Cooper was part of the first group of astronauts chosen by NASA as part of the Mercury Seven. He piloted the final Mercury mission (Mercury-Atlas-9) and became the first American to spend an entire day in space. This glove would have been used by him after serving as a backup commander for Apollo 10.
Space’s Favorite Beagle
Charlie Brown’s mischievous pup has been part of the American space program since the beginning. Snoopy joined NASA in 1968 as a mascot for the Manned Flight Awareness program and even served as a gravity indicator during Artemis I in 2022.
Dr. George E. Mueller is credited with creating and directing the Office of Human Spaceflight at NASA Headquarters. He guided the agency through the Apollo program and the early development of the Skylab and space shuttle projects.
This Snoopy pin flew into lunar orbit and was later presented to Mueller.
Buzz Aldrin’s very fly jacket
After the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, command module pilot Al Worden had worn out his flight jacket. To replicate his jacket and keep “The Right Stuff” in the cultural consciousness, Worden co-founded a company called Still the Right Stuff in 2013. The goal was to produce museum-quality replica garments inspired by the iconic Apollo flight jackets.
This item is a Still the Right Stuff Apollo 11 jacket from Buzz Aldrin’s personal collection. Aldrin’s flight jacket features the Apollo 11 mission patch and NASA meatball.
Still the Right Stuff no longer makes these heritage jackets, but this garment is a testament to the vintage flight jackets that inspired fashion around the world.
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