This, ladies and gentlemen, is a genuine, bona-fide, real-as-you-like joystick from an actual moon mission.
The rotational hand controller was used by astronaut Dave Scott to pilot Apollo 15’s Lunar Module Falcon and will go up for auction on 15 May.
It could go for as much as £180,000.
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Apollo 15
Apollo 15 landed on the moon in August 1971 with Scott and his colleague James Irwin and was the fourth such mission to make it to the surface.
The lucky buyer of the joystick will also receive a two-page letter of authenticity detailing how it was used in the mission.
It reads: "I hereby certify that the Rotational Hand Controller (RHC) included with this letter was used to maneuver the Lunar Module ‘Falcon’ during the Apollo 15 descent and landing on the Moon; and after 3 days on the surface of the Moon, this RHC was used during lunar launch, ascent and rendezvous with the Command and Service Module, ‘Endeavor,’ in lunar orbit.
"This LPD function was especially significant during Apollo 15 whereby during the initial descent from lunar orbit, the Mission Control Center (MCC) informed the crew that the trajectory would take the LM 3,000 feet south of the planned touchdown point.
"The lunar surface became visible during descent at about 7,000 feet altitude (LM ‘pitchover’) and based on the MCC input that we would land 3,000 feet south, I immediately began to move the target point north using the RHC to redesignate the LGC touchdown point…In summary, this remarkable device (RHC, ACA), coupled with appropriate mode switching, provided the Commander (and LMP) with 11 separate functions during four major phases of a lunar landing mission."
There are a number of other Apollo-related items for sale including this rather fetching copy of the Declaration of Independence flown aboard Apollo 11.
