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last mo.

Aldrin’s Moon‑Used Felt‑Tip Pen and Broken Switch Sell for $857,600

The sale shows how legal ownership rules enabled the public transfer of moon‑flown items.

Buzz Aldrin by the leg of the Lunar Module, Apollo II mission, July 1969. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface, standing by the footpad of the Lunar Module. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module, code named Eagle, with US astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on board, landed in the Sea of Tranquillity on 20 July 1969. Apollo 11 was the fifth manned Apollo mission, and was the first to land on the Moon. Artist Neil Armstrong. (Photo by Heritage Space/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
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The Plastic Pen That Saved Apollo 11: How a Simple Felt-Tip Kept Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin From Being Stranded on the Moon

Overview

  • The Duro “Rocket” felt‑tip pen and the broken engine‑arm circuit breaker button sold for $857,600 after competitive bidding Wednesday at Sotheby’s in New York, a total that includes the buyer’s premium.
  • Buzz Aldrin used the pen during Apollo 11 in July 1969 to press the internal contact of a snapped circuit breaker and rearm the ascent engine without risking an electrical short, allowing Eagle to lift off from the Moon.
  • Both objects were offered with Aldrin’s signed provenance letter, had been loaned to the Smithsonian’s Destination Moon exhibit, and were consigned by the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust after a 2022 auction attempt failed to meet reserve.
  • The lot was part of Sotheby’s Geek Week Space Exploration sale of 134 lots that included more than 40 items from Aldrin and produced roughly $2.86 million in total proceeds, and the pen’s price did not rank among the top public sales for space‑flown artifacts.
  • NASA responded to the broken switch by adding physical guards over lunar‑module circuit breakers on later missions, and the sale highlights how a small, nonconductive tool and quick thinking affected both mission safety and the market for space memorabilia.