Science/Tech

NASA Moon Landing Camera Up For an Auction

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Feb 01, 2014 02:42 PM EST

A camera, that reportedly was used by the eighth man who walked on the moon in 1971 is up for an auction in Austria, the sale's organizers announced. 

A 70mm Hasselblad Electric Data Camera (EDC) being described as the camera used on the moon by Apollo 15 astronaut named James Irwin in 1971 will be auctioned in March by Austria's WestLicht Gallery. 

"[The plate number] is 100-percent proof that this camera is the real thing and really was on the moon," said Peter Coeln, owner of the Westlicht Gallery, according to CollectSpace

The price of the camera is expected to be between $200,000 to $270,000. 

"The number 38 appears on the camera's Reseau plate, a transparent piece of glass used to superimpose calibration crosshairs on the photographs taken with the camera. The "38" also appeared on each of the 299 photos captured by Irwin," reported CollectSpace

The gallery to auction the camera is also claiming that the Hasselblad EDC camera is the only lunar-surface-used camera that managed to return to Earth. 

Apollo moonwalkers were instructed to leave the bodies and other peripherals back on the moon to save weight. On the second of the three moonwalks during the Apollo 15 mission Irwin reported that the camera had locked up. When the camera was rectified, on the third moonwalk it again locked up and decision to bring it back to Earth for detailed inspection was taken. 

"I feel certain that this camera flew in the Apollo command service module during one or more lunar flights," said NASA's former aerial, instrumentation and motion picture photographer Dick Williamson in a letter included with the camera's 2012 auction.

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics