In a remarkable display of space exploration history, a pen used by Buzz Aldrin to fix a critical issue during the Apollo 11 mission sold for $857,600 at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday. The sale also included a broken switch that was part of the engine arm circuit breaker, which had been inadvertently broken off by either Aldrin or Neil Armstrong.
The pen used by Buzz Aldrin to fix the issue was a Duro-brand Rocket felt-tip marker. In a letter accompanying the artifacts’ sale, Aldrin described how he used the pen to push the circuit breaker on. “While I could have stuck my finger in and reset the switch, there was electricity flowing through the breaker and I did not want to electrocute myself,” he wrote. “I had a plastic felt-tip pen in one of my suit pockets and it fit into the breaker opening, so I pushed the marker pen into the circuit breaker, it clicked on, and we rearmed the Engine Arm circuit.”
The tale of the pen and circuit breaker is well known, having been recounted by Aldrin in his books and talks. The pen was also loaned to the Smithsonian for its “Destination Moon” traveling exhibit featuring the Apollo 11 command module “Columbia.” A law enacted in 2012 reaffirmed that Aldrin and his fellow Apollo-era astronauts legally had title to the spacecraft hardware and other crew equipment they kept as mementos from their missions.
This was at least the second time that the pen and switch had been offered for sale. In 2022, Sotheby’s listed the same set as part of its “Buzz Aldrin: American Icon” sale. Despite eliciting bids up to $650,000, the lot failed to reach its reserve and was passed. This time, the bids reached $670,000, and it was sold on behalf of the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust.
The winning bidder was not identified other than as a participant by phone. While the sale price was impressive, the pen and switch did not break into the top 10 list of the highest prices at a public sale for space artifacts and memorabilia. The second-highest price for a space-flown artifact was the $2,772,500 commanded by Aldrin’s Apollo 11 in-flight jacket, which Sotheby’s sold in 2022.
The pen and switch were part of Sotheby’s annual Geek Week of science and technology-themed auctions. The sale offered 134 lots, including more than 40 items from Aldrin’s collection. In total, it brought in $2,862,336. A modern Moonshine gold Omega Speedmaster chronograph, one of 24 watches consigned by the Aldrin Family Trust, sold for $70,400.
The pen and switch are now part of a private collection, but their significance to space exploration history will not be forgotten.
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