The Mercury Capsule

The Mercury Capsule

"You don't get in this-you put it on!"... Wally Schirra

Flown Project Mercury camera lens

It was the first flight of a standard Mercury capsule, launched on a Little Joe rocket. It's mission was to test the emergency escape system. The mission was a failure and the capsule nearly destroyed.

MR-1... the first Mercury Redstone "flight"

This electrical cable was used to connect the Mercury capsule to the Redstone rocket on which it sat. The story of MR-1's short, but interesting, flight plays an important part in the story of America's space program. The launch occurred on November 21, 1960... three weeks after the failure of Capsule #3's demise. America had entered the space race behind the Soviet Union and MR-1 proved to be the most embarrassing moment of the USA's effort to catch up. Read more about it here.

Ham's flight... the first monkey in space.

January 31, 1961, just two months after the "popped cork" flight of MR-1, and a month after the successful flight of MR-1A Ham entered the history books as he flew 129.8 miles above the Earth. Three months later Alan Shepard would become America's first man into space. This fitting was part of the flown Mercury capsule that took Ham into space.

A piece of Friendship 7... and a moment in history

This is the bolt and washer that broke in the process of securing the hatch to John Glenn's capsule, Friendship 7. On February 13, 1962, the world held it's collective breath anxiously awaiting for the first American to orbit the Earth while technicians feverishly worked to replace a single hatch bolt that had broken off and delayed the flight for 22 minutes. Guenter Wendt, the Pad Leader, placed this piece of history into his pocket and later preserved it in lucite.
Read the whole story in "The Unbroken Chain" by Guenter Wendt and Russell Still.

And the matching piece...

This is the plate nut removed from Friendship 7 that delayed the launching of America's first man into orbit. The hatch had to be removed and this plate nut was then drilled out and replaced. It's replacement is still attached to the capsule on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

A piece of John Glenn's spacesuit

This is a section of the umbilical hose from John Glenn's spacesuit. This hose segment was originally given to Tom Morley by John Glenn after his famous flight of becoming the first American to orbit of the Earth. Morley was a radio broadcaster who was assigned to cover the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights and developed many friendships among the early space pioneers.

A piece of Launch Complex 14

Where all the Mercury Atlas flights were launched.

Pad 19

This a huge bolt that was removed from the Pad 19 launch tower. Pad 19 was the launch site of all the Gemini missions. The bolt is forever suspended in aged, scratched, and yellowed lucite. It's obviously been viewed and handled a great deal. It's incredible.

"Almost flew" on GT-4

A great gag presentation, from the collection of Jim McDivitt, poking fun at flown items.

GT-7 bolt

A small flown bolt from the Gemini 7 spacecraft.

GT-8 AMU

I really like artifacts like this one. It didn't fly in space. It has little monetary value. It appears to be just a common bolt... but this one is special. For one thing it's handmade. There are indentations on each end where it was turned on a lathe, it wasn't just picked up at the hardware store but crafted according to engineered drawings, the machinist that made it even scratched his initials on the head.
I was given this bolt by Don Black who worked for McDonnell in the White Room during the Gemini program. This is the bolt that held the GT-8 AMU in place during shipping. Don told me that Neil Armstrong came out and gave him a hand installing the AMU in place on the Gemini spacecraft. Another small piece of our nation's space story.

The Gemini White Room

This is a little piece of tubing that was removed from the Pad 19 White Room before it's demise. Pad 19 was the location of the Project Gemini launches. Notice the remaining white patches of paint.

Flown on Apollo and used in the White Room

Flown on Apollo and used in the White Room

This beta cloth pouch was used in the White Room by Guenter Wendt to store misc items that were used throughout the Apollo program to "ready the flights". Not only was it THERE during that incredible time... but before it was used in such a humble service... it was carried on one of the early Apollo flights... exactly which one?... it's not known.

First Flights Presentation

A "First Flights" presentation, with actual pieces from each of the major first flights... from the Wright Brothers to Apollo 11. There is a piece of fabric from the first powered flight, the first flight across a continent, the first flight across an ocean, the first flight around the world, and the first flight to another world. Learn more about this piece at... FirstFlights.

Pin Collection (please... "click" on the image... I promise I won't ask you to do it again :)

Over 200 pins from Mercury to the Shuttle. At least I think that's how many... if you care to count, let me know what you come up with! It's well worth seeing these up close so give the image a click!

Apollo 7

The Front Line of Apollo

This photo is of the Apollo 7 crew during one of their lighter moments. (With Wally Schirra as commander I imagine there were many light moments.) Walt Cunningham told me, as he was signing this photo, that he was the only one with the proper stance... that "the other two would get knocked over on their backsides in a second."

Apollo 7 and the Phoenix

Al Stevens was the creator of the Apollo 7 crew emblem. This is an original painting of Stevens that shows the process in coming up with the final design. Wally Schirra wanted to name his mission after the Phoenix, the legendary bird that rose from the ashes, much like Apollo 7 rose from the tragedy of Apollo 1. There are a total three Stevens paintings that feature the Phoenix... this one being the boldest. NASA, however, rejected the Phoenix concept.

Apollo 8

A small piece of the Apollo 8 command module.

Description from the individual we received this item from:
"During the mid-1960s, I was fortunate enough to be Director of Advanced Systems at North American Aviation, Inc. Space and Information Systems Division in Downey California. During that time I received many models, paintings and publications related to our company’s historic work on the Apollo Moon landing program, and the visionary work we were doing on what space exploration would follow it. Most of what I received were company property and were rightly left for my successor. But a few items were specifically personal gifts, albeit from those whose "day-jobs" often involved the space race. Here is one such item. A framed, 18" X 36", oil painting on tempered masonite representing the Apollo Command Module returning to Earth from the Moon and beginning its fiery atmospheric descent. The artist is and has been unknown to me. It was done on his own time, and is unsigned (although there are a few areas that look as if they could be a name, but undecipherable to me). This painting has hung in my home office for more than 40 years, bringing me awe and excitement every time I glance at it. "

Apollo 9

Original painting by artist Ed Hengeveld. Can you imagine being one of these guys?

Apollo 9 was once Apollo VIII

This is an original artist concept painting for the Apollo 8 mission emblem. It was painted by Al Stevens who designed many of the Apollo crew patches. Notice the similarities in design to what was to become the Apollo 9 mission emblem.
Originally, Apollo 8 was intended to follow Apollo 7 into Earth orbit for a testing of the lunar module. There was a delay in completing the LM which postponed that objective. Meanwhile it was feared that the Soviet Union might attempt a manned lunar orbit mission before America would. So, the original Apollo 8 mission's objectives was changed to Apollo 9 and a new mission was created with the crew of Borman, Lovell, and Anders.
The painting has now been signed by the entire crew... notice that Rusty has added a "c" that was left out of his name. :) And then, Jim McDivitt uses his famous green pen to complete the crew...


Rusty Schweickart and Dave Scott are here looking at the Apollo VIII crew patch (seen above) and reflect back to that very short period in their life when they were members of the crew of Apollo VIII... which was only lasted for a few weeks, until their mission designation was changed to Apollo 9...

Apollo 10

Parachute chord

Snoopy

Even our comics got involved in the space race and went to the Moon. Snoopy was a favorite. The lunar module of Apollo10 was known as "Snoopy" and the command module was "Charlie Brown."

Apollo 11

Neil Armstrong is remembered for being the first man on the Moon. Unfortunately, there were few photographs taken of him on the Moon. This original painting by Ed Hengeveld shows Neil taking a photo of Buzz by the US flag.

The Apollo 11 crew... Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.



This dollar bill was obtained from the estate of the Vice President of First City National Bank in Houston, Texas. He had Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sign it shortly after their historic first Moon landing. I've now added Michael Collins to complete the crew.

Practice nametag

The NASA employee that made the official Apollo suit nametags practiced three times before making the final ones. This is one of those practice nametags on beta cloth.

Authentic Apollo 11 US flag spacesuit patch

This patch was removed from a spacesuit used by astronauts practicing for the Apollo 11 mission at the Langley Research Center. Notice the intricate stitching used to sew the beta cloth to the thick rubber underlining material. Both Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot and Michael Collins, the Command Module Pilot have signed this piece. For more information on the Langley Research Center check out... http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Apollo.html

The only copy of the Declaration of Independence to have been carried to the Moon on Apollo 11

with COA from Michael Collins.

Capitol Flag

This flag was flown over the US Capitol Building in Washington DC on July 20, 1969... the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon.

Apollo 11 3D Topo Map

In all my years of collecting I've only seen one of these come onto the market... and this is that one. Originally from the collection of Guenter Wendt.

From the collection of Neil's parents

This is the "Hometown Edition" of the Wapakonetta Moon Landing newspaper that Neil Armstrong's mother and father gave to, historian and family friend, Rick Boos after the their sons famous flight.

Neil on the Moon

by Ed Hengeveld

A letter from Neil's mother

Mrs. Armstrong writes about the homecoming parade being give in Wapokeneta, Ohio for her son. The letter is written on September 1, 1969 just a few weeks after Neil Armstrong's historic first walk on the Moon.

One small step for a man

A short sweet note from Neil Armstrong's mother.

Neil's childhood toy

Neil Armstrong has earned quite a few titles including "First man to walk on the Moon"... but his favorite of all is simply "Engineer". I can't think of a better way to develop an interest in a child for engineering than letting them play with an erector set.

Neil Armstrong's Telegram

This is a telegram sent to Neil Armstrong from the governor of Ohio (Neil's home state) congratulating him on his flight... here is the text...

The first man to pee on the Moon

Buzz Aldrin signed this humorous print illustrating the "first on the Moon" event that he is noted for.

Study hard... and maybe one day you'll go to the Moon.

Three of Buzz Aldrin's childhood report cards... grade 7,8, and 12.

Buzz and his father

From Buzz's personal collection, this pocket watch belonged to his father. Neil Armstrong was most influenced and shaped by his mother, but in Buzz's life, the dominate parental influence was his father.

Buzz's boot

Perhaps one of the most dramatic images of the 20th century, signed by the Man who took it.

Lunar rocks...

Tektites... from Buzz Aldrin's personal collection... used during Apollo 11 training.

Moon rock container

Containers such as this one were made to store and transport moonrocks upon return to Earth. They were made of stainless steel which would not contaminate the precious specimens that they contained... and they were made strong, heavy, and secured, to keep the specimens from contaminating the Earth with possible alien pathogens.

Apollo 11 Moon rock box

This is the lunar rock box used by the Apollo 11 astronauts to bring their treasure back to Earth... currently on display at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

Apollo 11 artist proof

All crew emblems go through a process of concept, artist renderings, and then multiple revisions. This is an early Apollo 11 concept original painting by NASA artist, Al Stevens. Notice that the Eagle is coming in for a landing from the left as it originally appeared in a National Geographic magazine article on eagles that Michael Collins found for inspiration. There is an American flag seen here which would later be removed, and notice that the olive branch that would be later added to create more of a "for all mankind" statement is missing.Notice also that the names of the Apollo 11 astronauts would eventually be removed because, as Michael Collins wrote, "this was an event bigger than three individuals."

Apollo 12

This small print is of my favorite Al Bean paintings.

A Star that went to the Moon

A Star that went to the Moon! How cool is that?
This was presented to Lloyd Rackley by the Apollo 12 crew upon their release from quarantine. I've only seen two others like this, one was for Buzz Aldrin, the other was Dick Gordon's.

Apollo prototype Rotational Control Handle

This is from Dick Gordon's personal collection. It is a prototype model of the controller that steered the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. Dick played an important role in the design of many of the Command Module's features. The quality of the craftsmanship that went into this piece is just incredible.

Artist's concept painting for the Apollo 12 emblem

This is a small painting that Al Stevens made in the early stages of the creation of the Apollo 12 crew emblem... three Navy men going to the Moon.

A unique patch

Notice the missing wake from the back of the ship in this Lions Brothers patch.

Leaving Earth

This is a gorgeous view of Earth. Even Alan Bean exclaimed "Wow!" when this 16by20 was unrolled in front of him. In his own words Al wrote "Our first view of Earth... What a beautiful planet to live our lives... There goes our SLA panel! Alan Bean, Apollo 12
Alan Bean chose to write all of this in a matching curve following the horizon of the Earth.

An "error" medallion

A moment at SpaceFest '09... Dick Gordon and Alan Bean have just had a good chuckle over this error coin and then Andy Chaiken walked by. Dick told him to "Look at this!, now you're going to have to rewrite that damn book!" It was a good time for all... a moment I was glad to have witnessed.

Apollo 13

Flown to the Moon

A beta cloth emblem... flown to the Moon.

Close, but no cigar

A series of coins were made by the Franklin mint in which items flown on the Apollo 13 mission were added to the melted mix. The series featured the various stages involved in a lunar mission. This particular coin is considered the "choice" one of the series as a lunar landing was the objective, but not the achievement, of the Apollo 13 mission.

The world held it's breath...

Apollo 14

A guided tour of Fra Mauro Base, by Edgar Mitchell.

Alan Shepard's golf ball

Fra Mauro

This map depicts a portion of the precise lunar topographic model prepared for NASA. This model was an integral part of the Lunar Module Simulator. The simulator provided crew training and orientation for Apollo Astronauts for scheduled lunar landings and was installed at the JFK Space Center at Cape Kennedy. The completed model contained over 500,000 craters, measured 14 feet by 22 feet, and weighed approximately 600 pounds.

Topo relief map of the landing site where "Antares" landed, and where Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell explored this rugged lunar landscape. Notice the paths taken by the astronauts and how close they came to the crest of Cone Crater before turning around. This map has been signed by the crew of Apollo 14.

Guenter Wendt's Helmet

It had long been a tradition within the US space program to exchange gag gifts before launch. It was a time to honor each other and create a bit of levity in the midst of serious preparations. This is, in my humble opinion, the greatest of those exchanges.
Here pad leader Guenter Wendt is holding a cane in one hand that he had given to Alan Shepard. Attached to the cane is a sign indicating the cane as "lunar explorer support equipment" thus poking fun of Shepard for being the oldest man to go to the moon (48 years old). Shepard was the only one of the Original 7 astronauts to go to the Moon.

Shepard on the night before his launch, upon learning of the presentation that he would receive, sent an aid down to Miami to get a German helmet from the TV set of "Hogan's Heroes" and had the words "Colonel Guenter Klink" put on it. Guenter's title was "Pad Leader" at the Cape, but due to his German accent, and diligent control of his area of responsibility, he gained the unofficial title of "Pad Fuhrer."

"Reluctantly"

One of the greatest gags of the space program. The backup crew loaded the Apollo 14 spacecrafts with these backup crew patches. This particular one was brought back from the Moon and presented to Deke Slayton. The image above is of Gene Cernan (prankster) and Ed Mitchell (victim).

Apollo 15

The Mountains of the Moon

This is my favorite photograph of the entire space program. Exploration at it's greatest. The shadow on Mount Hadley in the background is awesome and the first car on the Moon is ready to go for an adventure. Just incredible. Dave Scott has inscribed it with one of the concluding sentences of his book The Two Sides of the Moon... "The three most memorable days of my life were spent on the Moon, I often feel a pang of nostalgia, Dave Scott, Apollo 15 CDR"

The Commander's LM

Rare Silver contractor model... from the personal collection of Dave Scott.

Landing at Hadley

A view that no camera, and only an artist like Ed Hengeveld, could capture. A lifeless world awaiting it's first visitor. There is something very moving to me about Mt Hadley's shadow, the Rille, and all the rugged features of the landing site of Apollo 15's "Falcon."

Apollo 15 Landing site 3D topo map

The deep Rille dominates this topo map.



This is a terrific panoramic photo of the Apollo 15 landing site. The mountains in the background are majestic. The Lunar Module, seen so far away in the distance, illustrates the great mobility that the lunar rover (pictured on the right) gave to Scott and Irwin. Dave Scott has signed this print and he has provided descriptions of some of the prominent features.

Landing site map... used during the mission

This Apollo 15 lunar map, showing the landing site (circled at the top center of section 15), was not only "carried to the Moon and back" but was "used" by the crew while there.

Noah's ark

Jim Irwin, the Apollo 15 lunar module pilot and the eighth man to walk on the Moon, attempted to find Noah's Ark here on Earth after his retirement from NASA. Ed Hengeveld honored Irwin and his unfulfilled quest in this painting, showing him finding the Ark... on the Moon.

Do you see the "XV"?

I have always been fascinated with the Apollo 15 landing site. It was such a perfect place to land and to explore... tall mountains and deep ravines, or rilles, and craters. I have been working with various site maps trying to perfectly "frame" the landing site, making sure to include all the interesting features surrounding it. It was during this time that something really startling jumped out at me. To the northwest of the landing site was a geographical feature, larger than Mount Hadley, that clearly is the shape of the roman numeral "XV". I thought it was an incredible coincident that this landmark formed the same number as the Apollo 15 mission, and that it was so close to it, practically in the flight path of the Lunar Lander.

I was excited to approach Dave Scott with my discovery of this "XV" formation. I unrolled my map and pointed it out to him and I commented that in all the documentation, and in the books and the articles that I had read about this mission, that I was surprised that I had never read anything about this amazing coincident. Dave Scott took a hard look at it and gave me a rather surprised look of pleasure. He said that he had looked at maps of this site many, many times over the course of several decades and that he had never noticed it, nor had anyone ever pointed it out before! Dave Scott inscribed on this map "To Noah, with many thanks for discovering the landing site "XV". Best personal regards, Dave Scott Apollo 15 C/R 13 August 2005." We both agreed that from now on this lunar formation should be referred to as "The Noah Formation." :)

A private moment

Artist Ed Hengeveld has captured in this original painting a final moment of Dave Scott's time on the Moon, when he placed a copy of the Bible onto the lunar rover that had served him so well.

Proving Galileo right

Dave Scott performed an experiment on the Moon and in the process proved a theory made centuries before. Dropping a Falcon's feather and his rock hammer at the same time, in the airless vacuum of space, both items struck the Moon's surface at the same time. This small model (notice the finger in the background for scale) was built by John Sims.

Apollo 16

This flag is not the typical PPK flag, of which there are thousands, that were flown to the Moon. This flag encountered the three most significant events of the early 70's. It was originally presented to Thomas Seitzinger by his mother as he was leaving for a tour of Vietnam. Thomas carried this flag in his wallet throughout his time fighting in that war. When Thomas returned home, a decorated hero, he sent the flag to President Nixon and asked him if he would see to it that the flag was sent to the Moon. John Young would later carry the flag to the lunar surface on Apollo 16 and return it to Thomas. The flag has accompanying documentation to back up the fact this flag experienced the Vietnam war, the Watergate plagued White House, and the Apollo lunar program.

The man who took his family to the Moon

Charlie Duke took several copies of his family photo with him to the Moon's surface onboard the lunar module Orion. He left one of these photo's out on the Moon's surface and photographed it, and brought the rest of them back to Earth. He gave these flown copies to his family members and one to the photographer that took the picture. This is that photo... and likely to be the only flown copy to be owned outside of the Duke family.

Apollo 16 3D topo map of the landing site

This is a very rare topo map... the only one that I've seen or heard about. Here's my tally of Apollo topo maps that I know of, and how many of each that have been listed for sale... Apollo 11, two known ones, one that has come onto the open market... Apollo 12, one... Apollo 14, one... Apollo 15, three... Apollo 16, one... Apollo 17, five, one is at Jim Lovell's restaurant, one that was listed and pulled before auction, and two that has come onto the open market. That's a total of only thirteen known copies of lunar surface landing site topo maps that I know of in existence... with only five of these having been offered for public sale. Are there more? Likely... but they are rare.

Apollo 17

The Valley of Taurus-Littrow

This is a 3D relief map of the landing site of Apollo 17. These relief maps give the viewer a much greater appreciation for the beauty of the Moon, and the challenge of landing a spacecraft in such rugged terrain.

A father's love for his daughter

This model of Gene Cernan illustrates the moment that Cernan wrote his daughter's initials in the Moon's surface. Notice he also holds the broken fender of the Lunar Rover in his other hand.
The actual broken fender was brought back from the Moon and is currently on display in the National Air and Space Museum.

Final parting message from the Moon

Skylab

Snoopy

Snoopy gets around!... he was even on Skylab. The COA letter which follows is well worth the read for the great story behind this rare piece of space memorabilia. There is a presentation just like this one on display in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Click on the letter to enlarge.

Lots of lucites

Pieces of Skylab that survived reentry... found in Australia.

Flown Hardware

There is certainly no shortage of burnt pieces of Skylab insulation that survived re-entry into the atmosphere. Just check out eBay on any given day.
These two pieces however were brought back safely to Earth by Paul Weitz in the command module. These items were removed during Skylab's activation by it's first crew. Green labeled connectors were to be removed to allow proper deployment of equipment and experiments. The shown Pip Pin was a standard equipment "place-holder" used throughout America's first Space Station.

Another piece of Skylab

From the personal collection of Paul Wietz, who brought this piece back with him after his Skylab mission.

Space Shuttle

Cape Winds

A print of the Shuttle being moved to the launch pad, by the artist Attila Heija. If you have not seen this print up close you are really missing something. John Young signed and inscribed this print, after this photo was taken, with the words "Great voyages begin with small steps."

STS-1 Bolt

This bolt was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean after the launch of the first Shuttle flight. This flight holds special meaning to me as it was the first time that a manned mission was flown using an untested spacecraft. John Young and Bob Crippen were two brave men!

Shuttle thermal protection tile

Nearly as light as a feather and yet this one was one of the many tiles that protected the shuttle fleet from the 3,00o degree heat experienced during reentry.

John Glenn's Shuttle Flight

These are flown pieces of tile removed from the space shuttle following John Glenn's return to space.

The state flag of Virginia

Flown state flags are actually rarer than US flags. This is the only flown flag of my beloved state that I've seen come onto the market. It was originally gifted to the Governor of this state, along with a flown crew patch by the crew of STS-27... considered by some to be the "Apollo 13 mission" of the shuttle program.

SpaceShip One

X-Prize passenger

The Red Bearon was a passenger onboard the X-Prize winning flight of Space Ship One. Here he is reflecting on his flight in the cockpit.

Window seat

Notice the "Red Bearon" looking out the large window. I suppose he is reflecting on the view that he had... and one that I hope to see for myself one day.

Red Bearon captured!

Here we see the Red Bearon, bound together with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and being plunged into a tomb from which there is no escape! Poor Luke, he's upside down! Is this the end for this trio? :)
Actually Burt Rutan, the designer of SpaceShip One, is carefully packing these three individuals in a ballast container that was flown on SpaceShip One during the flight that won the ten million dollar X-prize. These are the only three items that were flown on this mission with the intent of selling to the public (with all proceeds going to charity). The Red Bearon is from the personal bear collection of the Rutans. Luke and Obi-Wan were later auctioned.
SpaceShip One is now on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

The Russians

Yuri Gagarin

The story of this Gagarin autograph...
"In September 1962 the Teachers’ Training College of Kristianstad, Sweden went for a trip to Denmark.On the ferry between the islands of Sealand and Fyn they met with the Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The 20-year old Ewa Månsson, forward as ever, decided to reach him to get an autograph. She took a friend and went to the captain’s bridge where Yuri Gagarin was being filmed by the Danish Television.He was wearing make-up and the most noticeable feature about him was that the uniform jacket and trousers had different colors. Ewa did not find any other scrap of paper than a freight note for a bicycle and on the back of that Yuri Gagarin wrote his signature with her Ballograf ballpoint pen after first having tested the tip for ink fluency! He then gave her a hug and kissed her on both cheeks. This autograph has been in her possession ever since. Carefully kept she has shown it to all her students. On Sept 7, 1962 Gagarin was received by the Danish King and afterwards he was given dinner by the Danish Government."

She didn't go to the Moon.

When Valentina saw this photo she gave me a big smile and commented in her charming Russian accent "I did not go to the Moon!" I replied that she did take a major first step towards it. She then showed the photo to Alexei Leonov's wife who was sitting next to her and they both warmly smiled.
Later that evening I found myself alone on the elevator with these two women. I commented on how wonderful it was to have them at this gathering. I could tell by their looks that they had no idea what I was saying. So, I told them that their English was much better than my Russian, which they both laughed over. Then the elevator door opened up and Valentina got off and the door quickly shut behind her, with her getting off on the wrong floor.
The door opened on the next floor and someone got on. Leonov's wife told this new passenger that "This young, charming American distracted Valentina and I so much that Valentina is now lost in the hotel!" She gave me a loving, scowling stare. I will always treasure that moment.

The first woman to leave home

Valentina Tereshkova signed and inscribed this beautiful photo of our home planet, originally taken by the crew of Apollo 8. She copied an inscription from a small piece of paper that I had given her. Where the extra "V" came from I don't know... but I've grown to like it.

Leonov's Lander

If the Soviet Union had succeeded in landing a man on the Moon, this is the lander that would have taken him there. There was barely enough room in this small spacecraft for one man to journey down to the lunar surface, and that one man would have been Alexei Leonov, who has signed the photo.

Check out the rest of the collection at these sites...

Autographs
Project Mercury and Gemini
The Moon, space models, and miscellaneous memorabilia
The Russians and the rest

Consider starting your own collection!

It is hoped that the artifacts here at the Lunar Archive will inspire you to start your own collection... consider visiting the following website where you will find some suggestions on what items to pursue when starting your own personal space archive.
An Introduction to Space Collecting

And finally...

Putting it all into perspective

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED AND MAY ONLY BE USED WITH WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE LUNAR ARCHIVE

BMB