Flag flown in space during Apollo 11 mission, lunar fragments from asteroid impact and more going under the hammer

A US flag carried to the Moon and back during the Apollo 11 mission has gone up for auction along with a haul of other astronaut gear.

The incredible memorabilia is part of RR Auction’s “Space Exploration” sale, which began on 24 September and wraps up on Thursday (16 October) – meaning there’s still time for collectors to bag a piece of space history.

The sale is a treasure trove for space buffs, featuring commemorative watches from Apollo astronauts, fragments of lunar rock from asteroid impacts, and even pieces of the Mercury-Atlas 1 Space Capsule, as reported by What’s The Jam.

READ MORE: Rare Ferrari lands owner £3.3m profit as it triples in value in just eight years by fetching £4.9m at auction

One of the standout lots is a US flag flown to the Moon and back aboard Apollo 11 – from the personal collection of Command Module Pilot Michael Collins.

The flag is expected to fetch more than £35,000 ($47,043).

Apollo 11 – crewed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Collins – made history as the first Moon landing.

The flag bears the crew’s signatures and even features Armstrong’s famous words, “One small step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind”, along the bottom of its frame.

RR Auction describes the flag as “an iconic and highly coveted relic flown to the moon on the most historic and avidly collected of all Apollo missions”.

Another highlight from the sale is a tiny microfilm Bible carried by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, expected to sell for £11,491 ($15,411).

The 1.5-inch version of the Holy Book could be read using a microfilm reader and was taken on the Apollo 14 mission in early 1971 on behalf of NASA chaplain Reverend John M. Stout, leader of the Apollo Prayer League.

The so-called “Lunar Bible” was the first complete scripture ever carried by humankind to the surface of another world, landing on the Moon on February 5, 1971, aboard the Apollo 14 lunar module Antares.

Duplicates of the rare Bible have since been displayed at the Vatican in Rome and Washington’s National Cathedral.

Other space-age gems in the auction include a Lunar Meteorite – a chunk of the Moon blasted loose by an asteroid impact and later found in the Sahara – expected to fetch £15,437 ($20,708).

Fragments of the Mercury-Atlas 1 capsule are also up for grabs, with estimates around £8,632 ($11,580).

The Space Exploration auction is being held by RR Auction, based in Boston, Massachusetts, and closes late on Thursday (16 October).

READ MORE: ‘Hundreds of ladybirds are taking over my house and PEEING on me’