A foot-long aluminum scoop used by astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell to pick up moon dust on the 1971 Apollo 14 mission is estimated to sell for a quarter-million dollars in a public auction to be conducted by Heritage Auction Galleries (www.HA.com) in Dallas, Texas and online on March 25, 2008.

The air and space memorabilia auction also features lunar maps and charts used in the Apollo 12 and 17 moon missions, and other historic, space-flown and moon-used items obtained directly from astronauts and their families.

“Our first auction of Air & Space material, held in September of 2007, was a resounding success,” said Tom Slater, Director of Americana auctions for Heritage, “and we’re excited to present this second event. More than 100 lots in this auction come from the personal collection of such renowned space pioneers as Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Gene Cernan, Alan Bean, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, Charles M. Duke, Richard F. Gordon, and Paul Weitz. These pieces have impeccable provenance, having been obtained from the very people that used them on some of NASA’s most historic missions, and include signed Certificates of Authenticity from the astronauts themselves, some of them handwritten.”

Heritage Auction Galleries’ upcoming Air & Space Auction will be held on March 25, 2008 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit www.HA.com.

Posted: 03|20|08 at 10:08 pm. Filed under: Auction News.