NASA Moon Camera: Hasselblad Used by Apollo Astronaut Up for Auction

A 70-millimeter Hasselblad EDC camera claimed to be the camera used on the moon by Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin in 1971 will be auctioned in March by Austria's WestLicht Gallery.

Credit: WestLicht Gallery

A camera purported to have been used by the eighth man to walk on the moon while he was exploring the lunar surface in 1971 is now heading for the auction block in Austria, the sale's organizers announced on Thursday (Jan. 30)

A 70-millimeter Hasselblad Electric Data Camera (EDC), described by the WestLicht Gallery in Vienna as having flown to the moon and back on NASA's Apollo 15 mission, is included in the gallery's March 22 auction of vintage and collectible cameras.

The lunar-flown Hasseblad is said to have been used by astronaut James Irwin, as identified by the registration number "38" on a small plate found inside the camera.

Peter Coeln

"[The plate number] is 100-percent proof that this camera is the real thing and really was on the moon," Peter Coeln, owner of the Westlicht Gallery, told the AFP wire service.

Coeln said the camera is estimated to sell for $200,000 to $270,000 (150,000 to 200,000 euros).

The number 38 appears on the camera's Reseau plate, a transparent piece of glass used to superimpose calibration crosshairs on the photographs taken with the camera.

The "38" also appeared on each of the 299 photos captured by Irwin.