[Apollo 11]

From the Personal Collection of Apollo 14 CMP Stuart Roosa.

A FAMOUS IMAGE OF THE HISTORIC LUNAR LANDING, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY THE APOLLO 11 CREW TO APOLLO 14 COMMAND MODULE PILOT STU ROOSA WITH THANKS FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE.

Stuart Roosa was among the “Original 19,” NASA Astronaut Group 5, along with other Apollo astronauts such as Charlie Duke, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert and Edgar Mitchell. Roosa was assigned to cover the Saturn boosters along with Charlie Duke, which initially seemed unimportant, until the Apollo missions neared. He served as CAPCOM at the Launch Complex 34 blockhouse during the Apollo 1 tragedy on January 27, 1967, but it was his performance supporting mission control on Apollo 9 that earned him the respect of his fellow astronauts – and most importantly, the notice of Chief of the Astronaut Office Alan Shepard. Roosa had been assigned to the mission because of his diligence with the Saturn boosters. He showed the same diligence training for Apollo 9 and spent months in simulations with the flight controllers. When Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart began to suffer from space adaptation syndrome (space sickness) on the first day in orbit, Roosa, who knew the flight plan better than nearly everyone else, helped to reorganize the mission schedule and save as many of the objectives as possible. He was at the CAPCOM mike nearly the entire time that the crew was awake.

Roosa's quick thinking kept the Apollo 11 mission on schedule as well. It was a key contribution to making Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins' historic lunar landing happen within the deadline set by John F. Kennedy to get boots on the Moon by the end of the decade.

The now-iconic image of Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin walking on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 EVA was captured by Mission Commander Neil Armstrong (seen in the reflection of Buzz's visor) as they explored the Sea of Tranquility. One of the most famous images in modern history, the present lot is additionally signed with a heartfelt message of thanks to Stu Roosa directly from Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. It's a reminder of the respect Roosa's diligence and expertise earned in the astronaut corps. This respect would later earn him a spot on the Apollo 14 prime crew as Command Module Pilot without ever having served as backup.