Buzz Aldrin's Apollo notes go on sale

Notes that Aldrin used during Apollo 11's descent on to the lunar surface in 1969 are to be sold off.

The notes include technical instructions as well as a second-by-second account of the final moments of the historic landing. Among them can be found the first words ever spoken by someone on the Moon, "contact light", which Aldrin uttered to indicate that the lander has touched down. The notes can be sold thanks to a recent change in the law which allows Apollo astronauts to retain legal ownership of items they kept from their missions.

In a letter accompanying the sheets, Aldrin describes how dramatic the final approach was. "We were behind on flight tasks due to the distractions caused by the alarms," he wrote. "At about 500 feet above the lunar surface, Neil Armstrong entered the commands to manually fly Eagle to the lunar surface with computer support. Mission Control radioed we had '60 seconds' of fuel remaining. Then '30 seconds' rang in our headsets."


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