From a flight computer to a toy Snoopy,Dear Utol: Catfish Episode 46 a space-themed auction on Thursday did not disappoint when it comes to strange outer space paraphernalia.
The Sotheby’s auction had everything a space nerd could want, including the chance to bid online live through eBay.
SEE ALSO: On the anniversary of Apollo 11, let us revisit the time Buzz Aldrin punched a moon landing denierBut perhaps the best things about the auction were some of the truly strange items put up for bid.
Here are five of our favorites:
Sold for: $1.5 million
What is it?This bag was probably the most controversial item up for auction. The bag -- used by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to collect samples on the moon -- has a long and storied history, which includes being effectively lost by NASA and sold at auction for only $995 in 2015, according to the space history website collectSPACE.com.
After its sale in 2015, NASA was actually sent the bag by its buyer, Nancy Lee Carlson, who asked the agency to test for moon dust. Instead of returning the bag, NASA asked to keep it and compensate Carlson, but that didn't work out. Eventually, a court in Kansas ruled against NASA, saying that Carlson is the rightful owner of the bag. She later gave the bag over to Sotheby’s.
Sold for:$40,000 (but it was only expected to fetch $5,000 to $7,000 initially)
What is it?This space shuttle-era computer processor was one of the first created for the program. The container is "contained inside an all metal outer case with interior gold-plated electronics having a total weight of 54 pounds," Sotheby’s said.
Sold for: $1,400
What is it?These two books -- called Heroes of the Starry Path-- may not look like much, but they're signed by the first woman who flew to space, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. The volumes, published in 1963 and 1977, were also signed by cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky.
Sold for:$6,500
What is it?Armstrong and the other Apollo 11 astronauts were quarantined on Earth after their history-making mission to the moon in 1969, so writing and receiving letters was particularly important for the astronauts after coming home.
This item from the auction is one of the letters Armstrong sent from quarantine after his historic spaceflight, and he even makes a joke in it.
"The market has been very unkind," Armstrong wrote. "Apparently I can't leave the Planet for even a short time without the economic situation getting out of control."
Sold for:$22,000
What is it?This might be the strangest one on the list. The Snoopy toy never actually made it to space, but that didn't seem to matter to its purchasers. The mass-produced astronaut toy was signed by Gene Cernan, the Apollo 10 pilot who died in January.
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