A series of original NASA photographs from the Apollo missions sold for a total of 1.16 million Danish kroner (US$171,831) at auction in Copenhagen on Wednesday.
The 74 privately owned images from the Apollo 8-17 missions included the famous image of Buzz Aldrin’s walking on the moon during the first manned moon landing in July 1969, which sold for 52,000 crowns ($7,703).
A photo of Buzz Aldrin in a full astronaut suit and Neil Armstrong, who took the photo and can be seen reflecting on Aldrin’s eyebrow, appeared on the cover of National Geographic and Life in 1969.
The first color image of the first Earthrise ever witnessed by humans during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 sold for the highest price of 88,400 crowns (13,095 USD).
The original, old NASA photographs have been released in limited numbers for scientific study and publication in international journals.
Kasper Nielsen, director of sales and valuation at Bruun Rasmussen, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the auction.
The auction house said the seller was a foreigner with ties to Denmark, but did not reveal the identity of the seller or the buyers.
The images were valued at between 1.3 million ($192,570) and 1.82 million kronor ($269,598).
Top image: American Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon’s surface, next to the lunar module “Eagle” (right), July 20, 1969.
“Hipster-friendly troublemaker. Communicator. Organizer. Devoted web lover. Unapologetic problem solver. Reader. Explorer. Travel guru.”
More Stories
A saber-toothed marsupial predator replaces its teeth with the eyes of a cow
‘never seen anything like it’
200-foot asteroid 2023 DZ2 to pass near the Moon