Now

Space Exploration

We are thrilled to be holding Sotheby’s second annual Space Exploration sale, since our first two groundbreaking Russian Space History sales of 1993 and 1996, this year taking place just a month before the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the moon.

The top lot in the sale was originally sold in the 1993 Russian Space History Sale here at Sotheby’s — a sample of lunar rocks returned to Earth by the Russian Luna-16 unmanned mission. It was the first time a piece of another world had ever been offered for sale to the public. It remains to this day, the only known legal sale of moon rocks to have ever occurred. We look forward to once again offering this tremendously rare and historic artifact to the public.  

Once again, there will be a wide variety of material from both the American & Soviet space programs — from lunar & space photography, original artwork by artists such as Chesley Bonestell and Alan Bean, flown mission artefacts and hardware, items from the personal collections of astronauts, autographed items, maps & charts, signed books, models, spacesuits, and much more, with material suited for both new and seasoned collectors.