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Historic NASA photos could be yours; images for auction include Neil Armstrong moon landing

Space enthusiasts can now own a piece of NASA history.

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Christie’s auction house is selling about 2,400 vintage, original photographs from the early days of the space agency in the auction dubbed “Voyage To Another World: The Victor Martin-Malburet Photograph Collection."

Some of the images include the first photo of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon and panoramas of the lunar landscape. All photographs in the collection were taken by the astronauts on the missions, who were trained by NASA, Hasselblad, Kodak, Zeiss specialists, and Life and National Geographic photographers, Christie’s said in a news release.

Many of the photos were not released when the missions happened and were only accessible to researchers in the archives of the Manned Spacecraft Center, now The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, in Houston.

The collection was compiled by private collector Martin-Malburet over 15 years, CNN reported.

“The astronauts are often portrayed as great scientists and heroes, but rarely are they hailed as some of the most significant photographers of all time. The early pioneers of Mercury and Gemini were given as a canvas space and the Earth; the Apollo astronauts an alien world. From the thin protections of their space capsules and EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units), they captured, with skill and daring, photographs which immediately embraced the iconography of the sublime, inspiring awe and wonder,” Martin-Malburet said of the photographs, according to Christie’s.

The value of the 700 lots ranges from £800 to £30,000 or about $1,053 to $39,491, Christie’s estimates.

The auction is open for bidding through Nov. 20.

Click here for the sale and to place bids.