Buy a piece of lunar history: Joystick used to land man on the MOON is up for auction - and it could be yours for £180,000



Joystick was used to steer Apollo 15's Lunar Module Falcon in 1971



It will go to online auction at a starting price of £5,900 ($10,000) on 15 May

Other items include a glove worn by Buzz Aldrin on the first lunar landing

Also for sale is a hand-painted prayer made by British primary school children and presented to an Apollo astronaut more than 40 years ago

The Declaration of Independence, flown to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission, will be up for auction at a starting price of £590 ($1,000)



It may not have the features of a PlayStation 4 controller, but this decades-old joystick has something far more exciting going for it: The device landed a spacecraft on the moon.

Now space enthusiasts could get their hands on this piece of lunar history when the joystick goes up for auction with a starting price of £5,900 ($10,000).



Named the Rotational Hand Controller (RHC), the device was used by astronaut Dave Scott and flown to the lunar surface aboard Apollo 15's Lunar Module Falcon.

The joystick used to land Apollo 15 on the moon is to be auctioned later this month. It has a starting bid of £5,900 ($10,000) and could allow a space enthusiasts to own a piece of lunar history

Auctioneers expect the historic device to fetch as much as £180, 000 ($300,000) when it goes up for sale later this month.



The RHC was part of the Lunar Module Falcon from Apollo 15, which was the fourth U.S. manned mission to land on the moon in August 1971.

It carried two astronauts, Commander Scott and pilot James Irwin, the seventh and eighth men to walk on the lunar surface.

The spacecraft was closer than 3,000ft (914m) south of its landing spot when Commander Dave Scott noticed it veering off course had he had to used this controller to steer it back.

The Lunar Module Falcon from Apollo 15 was the fourth U.S. manned mission to land on the moon in August 1971 (left) It was closer than 3,000ft (914m) south of its landing spot when Commander Dave Scott noticed it veering off course had to steer it back on track using the joystick which is now on sale (right)

A hand-painted prayer made by British primary school children and presented to an Apollo astronaut more than 40 years ago is also on sale during the auction of aviation and space memorabilia Among other items, a Nasa-issued lunar comfort glove worn by Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon, during the first lunar landing will be up for auction

THE LUNAR MODULE FALCON

The Lunar Module Falcon from Apollo 15 was the fourth U.S. manned mission to land on the moon in August 1971. It carried two astronauts, Commander Scott and pilot James Irwin, the seventh and eighth men to walk on the moon. It was closer than 3,000ft (914m) south of its landing spot when Commander Dave Scott noticed it veering off course had to steer it back on track.

The joystick used to do this is now up for auction with a starting price of £5,900 ($10,000).

‘During the initial descent from lunar orbit, the Mission Control Center informed the crew that the trajectory would take [it] 3,000 feet south of the planned touchdown point,’ wrote Commander Scott.

‘I immediately began to move the target point north using the RHC to redesignate the LGC touchdown point.’

The controller has been in Commander Scott's possession until now.

He said the joystick is one of the most useful parts of the lunar module you can own.

‘This remarkable device, coupled with appropriate mode switching, provided the Commander and [crew] with 11 separate functions during four major phases of a lunar landing mission,’ he writes.

The sale of the joystick comes with a two-page letter of authenticity from Commander Scott himself.

The housing also still has its original label indicating it was manufactured on March 3, 1969.

Online bidding for the joystick begins on May 15 and is being held by Boston-based RR Auction.

Other items up for auction include a glove worn by Buzz Aldrin during the first lunar landing and a Mercury-era hand controller presented to astronaut Gus Grissom.

Also for sale is a hand-painted prayer made by British primary school children and presented to an Apollo astronaut more than 40 years ago, along with a religous tile that went into lunar orbit.



Meanwhile, the Declaration of Independence, flown to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission will be up for auction at a starting price of £590 ($1,000).

A hand painted Jerusalem tile taken by astronauts into lunar orbit on the Apollo 16 command module