Auction Offers Pieces of the Space Race

�Contact light, OK, engine stop.�

�We copy you down, Eagle.�

�Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.�

Those words were exchanged on July 20, 1969 as the lunar module touched down on the Moon, beginning the little jaunt on the Moon known as Apollo 11. They were spoken into and received via this headset, worn by capcom Charlie Duke in Houston’s mission control. Well, they were also transmitted over millions of televisions and perhaps billions of radios, albeit at a remove. But all those funky old TVs aren’t up for auction, and this comms headset�along with some five hundred other pieces of NASA memorabilia from the Mercury program to Apollo 15�is. Offered by RR Auctions. From the item description:

The headset is held within a vinyl pouch, which has been signed in silver ink on the outside, �Charles M. Duke, Jr. �CAPCOM.�� Accompanying, as provenance, is a COA signed by Duke detailing his role in Mission Control during the first moon landing mission, with an image of the astronaut in 1969 and a more recent image shown holding the headset, and a second COA clarifying the matter of the serial number. Also included is a transcript of the final minute before the landing boldly signed in blue felt tip, �Charles M. Duke, Jr. Apollo 11 CAPCOM� and �Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 LMP,� and a color laser print of Duke at NASA�s Mission Control signed and inscribed in black felt tip, �To David Worrow: Congratulations on acquiring my headset�preserve it well for future generations. Charles M. Duke, Jr. Apollo 11 CAPCOM.�

Bidding for the headset starts at $500; the auction opens on January 13. [via It’s Full of Stars]