On July 18th, 2019, Christie’s Auction House celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1st moon landing with a space-themed auction called “One Giant Leap.” Auction pieces included vintage photographs signed by astronauts, a detailed moon map, and a camera brush with moon dust that was once in the hands of the Apollo 14 crew. However, the highlight of the auction was expected to be an item that was beside Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on their first mission to the moon: The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Timeline Book.
Inside the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Timeline Book
What sets this item apart from others is that it’s the first manual ever created to thoroughly detail the lunar landing procedures and surface operations of a spacecraft on the moon. It complemented the Apollo Guidance Computer by offering a physical fallback during critical operations. It sat between Armstrong and Aldrin inside the Eagle as they made their way to the moon.
An introduction by Christie’s shows that the book begins on July 20th, 1969, and follows up with hour-by-hour (including lunch break) plans to track every step necessary for a successful landing. The steps include everything from intricate drawings of what angle their lunar module should land on to the hour that Aldrin and Armstrong should put on their gloves.
What’s more fascinating is that it also contains the first writing done on the moon. Two minutes after their arrival, Aldrin stretched over to write the coordinates of their location. You can see from the angles of the numbers that he had to stretch over, as Aldrin was right-handed while the book was to his left.
On the item description page on Christie’s website, it includes a commentary by Aldrin, saying “In my excitement… I left out one decimal point and put the other after the 7 instead of before.”
There are also roughly 150 checkmarks, and faint traces of lunar soil transferred during sample packing.
While the daily schedule on the book makes the piece feel like a narrative, it’s the stains and marks on it that make it feel more human and close to home. Pages are riddled with smudges of moon dust, scotch tape, pen marks, and a standard coffee stain. Aldrin’s initials are written in faded pencil marks at the top right corner of the cover page.
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Timeline Book Failed to Meet the Reserve Price
Before the auction, Christie’s estimated that the book could be valued at between $7 million and $9 million. However, on the day, the highest bid was just $5 million, so the piece of history was retained by the owner.
Forbes writer Abram Brown reported that the current market for space collectibles is seeing prices rise. However, he lists two things that might see prices decline: increasing supply, and future space travel. As astronauts from the space-race age grow older, more of them are selling their collectibles. On the other hand, it’s hard to predict how future ideas, such as visiting Mars, will impact the value of previous items. However, older space media may increase in value as future plans are recorded only digitally.
Other NASA Antiquities at Auction
While the Timeline Book did not sell, Artnet news writer Caroline Goldstein noted that lower-priced items garnered more enthusiasm and interest. For example, a photograph of Aldrin called “Tranquility Base” was sold for $32,000, about 3 times more its expected value. Another signed photo of Neil Armstrong aboard a lunar module simulator about a month before the mission sold for $18,750.
A look at Christie’s lot list shows that the photos that sold for more than expected were those of the Apollo astronauts. One photograph of astronaut and test pilot Michael Collins alongside Armstrong was expected to go for $3000-$5000. Collins was responsible for piloting the Command Module Columbia in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module Eagle. Since he did not set foot on the moon, he tends to be less well known. The photo ended up selling for 5 times its estimated price at $25,000. This is in contrast to Mercury program memorabilia, which generally sold for the estimated price.
Sotheby’s is also auctioning several pieces of Apollo 11 memorabilia in celebration of this anniversary. On July 20th, they auctioned three unenhanced broadcast video tapes of the first walk on the moon. They are thought to be the only remaining original videos left from the generation it happened.
