BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Rare moon dust sample from Apollo 11 mission up for auction

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — Only 12 people have ever set foot on the moon, but you can now get your hands on the moon for the right price.

Bonhams Space History is set to hold an auction Wednesday in New York, featuring 20 space relics. But the highlight of the action is stored in five small canisters: dust samples collected during the first mission to the moon, and the price is expected to be astronomical.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” were the famous words of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong. Now, some of the dust he collected from that history-making mission is headed to auction.

“This sample was part of the contingency sample, which was the very first sample that Neil Armstrong collected after he took his first steps on the moon,” said Adam Stackhouse, a space history, science and technology specialist at Bonhams.

Between 1969 and 1972, U.S. astronauts scooped up 22,000 samples of rock, dust and other debris from the moon, but most of it is still held by NASA.

“Lunar samples are property of the U.S. government, property of the people. Because this sold through a government sale, it had fallen into private hands. It’s very unusual,” Stackhouse said.

This particular sample is only a fraction of the original. After it was seized from a space museum, it fell into private hands and then was auctioned off by the U.S. Marshals Service.

In 2017, an amateur geologist in Chicago paid $995 for the moon dust. It sold at auction for $1.8 million. What’s left could fetch another $1.2 million, according to Bonhams.

A portion of the proceeds will go to scientific charities.

The moon dust is so valuable because there’s so little of it on Earth. According to Vox, there’s less than a pound of it worldwide.

Space

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Mist

la

57°F Mist Feels like 57°
Wind
0 mph SE
Humidity
93%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Overcast. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Overcast. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
3 mph WNW
Precip
20%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent