A dusty document used on the Moon is set to go under the auctioneer’s hammer for over $500,000.
The mission checklist was worn on the lunar surface by NASA astronaut Gene Cernan – and is still covered in moon dust.
Cernan wore a glove and the cuff checklist on his wrist for the duration of the first Extravehicular Activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission.
Taking place in December, 1972, Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA’s Apollo program; the most recent time humans have set foot on the lunar surface or travelled beyond low Earth orbit.
Boston-based RR Auction says the item was exposed to the lunar environment for 7 hours and 12 minutes and “as such, its pages are still streaked with lunar dust.”
The auction also includes a highly accurate replica of Cernan’s left-handed Apollo A7-LB EVA glove fabricated by renowned artist Ryan Nagata, whose work has appeared in Hollywood movies including the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man.
The checklist can be seen on Cernan’s wrist in film footage and photographic stills taken during the EVA, most evidently in images of him saluting the American flag after its deployment.
It contains a comprehensive guide for the entire extravehicular activity, offering preparation procedures, simplified maps, and task lists.
Consisting of 25 spiral-bound double-sided pages, attached to an aluminum wrist brace, the document outlines the principal goals of “EVA-1”.
These included offloading the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), deploying the American flag, setting up experiment packages, and collecting samples of moon rocks and lunar soil.
Interspersed are cartoons of astronaut dogs exploring the lunar surface, playfully inserted by the backup crew—an Apollo tradition.
The Space Exploration and Aviation auction from RR Auction will conclude on April 20.
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