LONDON: An out-of-this-world collection of vintage NASA photos including the first “selfie” taken in space and a rare image of pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong on the Moon are to go up for sale in London.
The treasure trove of more than 600 images, including some of the most significant moments in lunar exploration, was put together over decades by a dedicated collector.
The pictures will go under the hammer at Bloomsbury Auctions in London on February 26, where they are expected to sell for between £300 ($465) and £10,000 ($15,525) — a total of upwards of £500,000.
Among the highlights of the sale is a photograph snapped by Buzz Aldrin — later the second man to step onto the Moon — during the Gemini 12 mission in November 1966, which is believed to be the first space “selfie.” It is tipped to sell for £600 to £800 ($932 to $1,242).
Aldrin also features in perhaps the most famous image in the sale: the so-called “visor photograph” showing him on the Moon on July 20,1969 during the Apollo 11 mission.
A spokesman for Bloomsbury Auctions said the picture, taken by Armstrong just minutes after he had made his “one small step” speech and featuring the pioneering astronaut reflected in his colleague’s helmet visor, was likely to excite a lot of interest from bidders.
“A picture like that still has enormous power today,” the photography expert said.
There’s also an extremely rare picture taken by Aldrin showing his fellow explorer Armstrong on the lunar surface. Most of the photos from the Apollo 11 landing were taken by Armstrong himself, so there are very few of him actually on the Moon.
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