Heritage Auctions is selling a slew of space artifacts that once belonged to Michael Collins, the heroic astronaut who in July 1969 piloted the command module above the Moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin leapt around on the lunar surface. The Space Exploration Signature Auction featuring items provided by Collins family is tomorrow through Friday. From Heritage Auctions:
One of the most exceptional items in the auction is an Apollo 11-flown American flag signed and certified by Collins, who kept the flag as a treasured souvenir of his role in the first manned lunar landing. At 17.75 inches by 11.5 inches, the incredibly rare silk flag is the largest size typically flown by Apollo missions. Written in black ink on the Collectibles Authentication Guaranty-certified flag: "Carried to the Moon on Apollo XI, July 1969- /Michael Collins CMP."[…]
Also featured in the June auction is a vital piece of documentation from the Apollo 11 mission, a flown and used star chart with handwritten annotations and signed by Collins. An extremely important artifact, the CAG-certified chart depicts dozens of stars and constellations and features numerous handwritten annotations by Collins, with the following written on the left border: "During the flight of/ APOLLO ELEVEN,/ I used this chart/ to help me locate stars. (The/ numbers were/ entered into/ the Command/ Module Computer/ Michael/ Collins/ CMP."
