[Apollo 15]

Typed Letter Signed (“Dave Scott”), Los Angeles, May 2, 2001, being a letter attesting to the present item as being flown: “This is to certify that this utility light was part of the equipment used onboard Lunar Module during flight of Apollo 15. It was used to provide light for checklist reading and other functions in the LM during cabin darkness on the surface, and when passing around the backside of the moon [sic] during the flight to and from the Command Module. / I saved this piece of equipment after the flight as a memento of the mission. It has been part of my personal collection ever since the flight and is genuine in every respect.”; Superior Galleries, Space Memorabilia Auction, May 5-6, lot 1013, consigned by Dave Scott with the present letter.

LET THERE BE LIGHT.

The present lot was flown in the Lunar Module Falcon, which landed on the lunar surface July 30, 1971. It provided additional light as needed to Commander Dave Scott inside the LM from their landing site in the Hadley-Apennine region. Hadley Rille, close to the Apennine Mountains, was chosen in part for the variety of its terrain. The rough terrain made for a hard landing, but the imagery of the gentle mountains behind the astronauts seen in the increased television coverage and excellent surface photography helped to revive public interest in the Apollo program.

The Apollo 15 mission illuminated our understanding of science in multiple ways. Most notably, Dave Scott demonstrated Galileo’s theory that objects of differing mass, in this case a hammer and a feather, fall at the same rate when air resistance isn’t a factor.

The present lot is a rare example of lunar module flight-used hardware originating from the personal collection of a Moonwalker who used it.