Historic Apollo 11 Pen That Played a Critical Role in Lunar Survival Fetches Jaw-Dropping $850,000 at Auction
Ever wonder what tool saved humanity from being moon-stranded on July 20, 1969? Picture this: Buzz Aldrin, fresh off making history as the second human to stroll on the lunar surface, finds himself staring at a busted circuit breaker that could’ve left him and Neil Armstrong hosting an unplanned lunar sleepover—forever. But instead of panicking, he pulls out a humble felt-tip pen and bam—fixes the issue, firing up the lunar module for liftoff. Crazy, right? Who knew that a modest pen tucked in an astronaut’s suit pocket would not only rewrite space history but also fetch a staggering $857,600 at a Sotheby’s auction decades later? Let’s dive into how quick wit and a simple writing instrument pulled off one of the most dramatic saves in the annals of space exploration. LEARN MORE
On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin used this pen to activate a damaged circuit breaker, allowing the lunar module to lift off the surface of the Moon.
Wikimedia CommonsOn July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin made history as the second person to ever walk on the Moon.
On July 20, 1969, there was a pivotal yet little-known moment during the Apollo 11 mission when Buzz Aldrin thought that he and Neil Armstrong could have been “stuck on the moon forever.”
But, Aldrin quickly improvised and fixed the problem — with a felt-tip pen. Now, after a bidding war between five collectors, the pen was just sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for a whopping $857,600.
How Buzz Aldrin’s Quick Thinking And A Humble Pen Saved The Apollo 11 Mission
In the provenance letter for the pen, Aldrin, now 96 years old, recounts those harrowing moments when he thought that he and Neil Armstrong might not make it off the surface of the Moon.
Wikimedia CommonsNeil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin (left to right) were almost unable to return home due to a circuit breaker problem on the lunar module — which Aldrin fixed with a pen.
After Aldrin and Armstrong finished their historic walk on the Moon, they went back to the lunar module Eagle to try to get some sleep. That’s when Aldrin noticed a small black button on the floor.
The little button was a circuit breaker switch for the engine arm, which, according to Aldrin, was the worst switch to break. Without it, they would not be able to lift off from the lunar surface. Fellow astronaut Michael Collins, meanwhile, was still circling the Moon in the command module Columbia.
Although the team made Mission Control aware of the issue, Aldrin said they just needed “good old human ingenuity” to fix the problem.
Aldrin said he could have stuck his finger in the circuit, but he was worried about the risk of electrocution.
Sotheby’sThe pen that Buzz Aldrin used to fix the lunar module’s circuit breaker just sold at auction for more than $850,000.
“I had a plastic marker pen in one of my suit pockets and it fit the breaker opening, so I pushed the marker pen into the circuit breaker, it clicked on and we rearmed the engine arm circuit,” Aldrin wrote. “Now we could leave the lunar surface, rendezvous with Mike in the command module and head for home. Disaster averted.”
It’s still unclear how the circuit breaker switch broke in the first place. Likely, Aldrin or Armstrong hit the panel by accident.
Aldrin wrote that he and Armstrong, who died in 2012, both thought the other astronaut broke the switch. Still, Aldrin said, “what mattered most was that we had to figure out how to solve the problem of the broken switch so we could leave the lunar surface and get home to Earth.”
The Auction Of Buzz Aldrin’s Historic Apollo 11 Pen
After the team returned home from the Moon, NASA gave Aldrin the circuit breaker and the pen to keep in his personal collection. Both items have since been exhibited at the Seattle Air & Space Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Buzz Aldrin’s quick thinking saved the Apollo 11 mission and influenced future engineering of NASA spacecrafts.
Aldrin’s brush with disaster also left a mark on future NASA missions. From then on, engineers ensured that circuit breakers on lunar modules had a guard to prevent them from breaking easily.
Aldrin previously tried to auction off the pen and circuit breaker in 2022, but the bidding on the items did not reach the minimum price to sell them. However, the white inflight coverall jacket that Aldrin wore during the mission did sell in 2022 for $2.8 million.
This time around, the dented silver plastic pen and circuit breaker sold for more than $850,000. The recent sale also included other personal items of Aldrin’s, including the New Jersey state flag he took to the Moon, papers and a cadet portrait from his time at West Point, and about two dozen wristwatches that span decades of his life. The sale also included the Buzz Lightyear figurine gifted to Aldrin by the director of Toy Story.
After reading about Buzz Aldrin’s mission-saving pen that sold for more than $850,000, discover the story of Judith Love Cohen, the woman who helped save Apollo 13. Then, see some of the most astonishing photos in NASA history.
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