BUZZ ALDRIN'S CUSTOM MOLDED EARPIECE, WORN THROUGHOUT THE MISSION, FROM LAUNCH TO TOUCHDOWN ON THE LUNAR SURFACE, AND THEN BACK HOME AGAIN

Page 1 of lot 16, depicting the CSM to LM Transfer list in the LUNAR SURFACE FLOWN Apollo 11 LM Systems Activation Checklist, on which the present Molded Earpiece was added in pen by hand. Image: Replica Shoes 's

While the present lot is only listed on "List A: CM Launch Stowage List" of the Apollo 11 Stowage List, and not on the CM to LM Transfer List, and manuscript addendum to the first page of the CM to LM Transfer List of the Apollo 11 LM Systems Activation Checklist clearly notes that the Molded Earpiece was indeed transferred to the Lunar Module during the Mission (see lot 16).

The Right Molded Earpiece (which is erroneously described as "Left") is now housed at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. At some early stage, the current earpiece was engraved with the wrong letter, and Aldrin has clearly deeply scratched an "L" over top of the "R" on the present piece. It is reasonable to assume that the Molded earpiece at the Smithsonian was incorrectly engraved with an "L", which would explain their having been mislabeled.

Detail of the Buzz Aldrin's Molded Earpiece, showing where he scratched and "L" over the erroneously etched "R", Image: Replica Shoes 's

Buzz Aldrin's provenance letter reads: "On July 16th, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and I lifted off from Pad 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on our journey to perform humankind's first landing on the Moon at the Sea of Tranquility.

During our mission to the Moon, we needed to be in constant communication with Mission Control in Houston. I used this earpiece as part of a communication headset that transmitted and received verbal observations and instructions to and from Mission Control during the mission, including on the lunar surface.

I engraved by hand my initials “EEA” (Edwin E. Aldrin), the date that I received the earpiece “4/69” on one side, and the letter “R” for right on the other side. While the earpiece was not listed on the CM to LM transfer list in the Apollo 11 Stowage List, it was added in by hand in pen to the CM to LM Transfer list of the Apollo 11 LM Systems Activation Checklist, which Armstrong and I used on the Lunar Surface.

This earpiece is one of the few objects used on a lunar mission and is also a rare example of an astronaut flight-certified object used during the first landing on the Moon. "

REFERENCES:

  1. NASA. Apollo 11 Stowage List. Mission AS 506 CM 107/LM-5. Houston, Texas: Manned Spacecraft Center, July 15, 1969, pp. 20 & 103
  • see lot 16 in this sale, LUNAR SURFACE FLOWN LM Systems Activation Checklist. Part No. SKB32100080-360, S/N 1001. Jettison. [Houston, Texas: NASA, Manned Spacecraft Center, 1969], page 1, where the present "Molded Earpiece" has been added in manuscript to the CM/LM Transfer list.