Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 felt-tip pen sells for over $850,000 at auction
6 reported
A felt-tip pen used by astronaut Buzz Aldrin to fix a broken circuit breaker on the Apollo 11 mission has sold at auction for $857,600. The pen, a dented silver plastic Duro Rocket, was used by Aldrin to activate the engine-arm circuit breaker needed to power the ascent engine that lifted him and Neil Armstrong off the moon in July 1969. The sale was handled by Sotheby's in New York, with five bidders competing for the item, which also included the broken piece of circuit breaker. Both items came from Aldrin's personal collection. The auction estimate had been between $800,000 and $1.2 million.
What’s reported
The felt-tip pen sold for $857,600 (£630,000) at a Sotheby's auction in New York.
The pen was used by Buzz Aldrin to fix a broken circuit breaker on the Apollo 11 lunar module.
The broken switch was from the engine-arm circuit breaker, which was needed to power the ascent engine.
The lot included the broken piece of circuit breaker, both from Aldrin's personal collection.
Five bidders pursued the item, which had an estimated sale price of $800,000 to $1.2 million.
Aldrin, now 96, is one of four surviving Apollo moonwalkers; Neil Armstrong died in 2012.
Key figures
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut and second man on the moon
Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon (died 2012)
Sotheby's, auction house
Sources: The Guardian
