On the eve of an historic mission to the moon searching for potentially life sustaining water and nitrogen, Heritage Auctions conducted a $944,500 Space Exploration Auction, on Oct. 8, led by Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot Ron Evans' Rolex watch, which realized $131,450, including 19.5% Buyer's Premium.

The handsome, all-original, 1968-era Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master was the personal watch of Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot Ron Evans. He placed it into his Personal Preference Kit (PPK) which was taken to the moon by crewmates Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard the Lunar Module Challenger while he orbited the moon in the Command Module America. It remained on the moon for approximately 75 hours on what, to this day, was the last manned lunar landing mission.

"A price like this on a watch as special as this Rolex shows that the fascination with our original astronauts, and space program, still runs very deep," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. "Collectors also realize that artifacts of early NASA are in very finite supply. The first generation of astronauts was able to take pieces and parts of spacecraft with them, unlike today, where astronauts have to account for every nut and bolt."

Further highlights of the Heritage Auctions sale included an Apollo 16 Lunar Module Flown Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS), directly from the personal collection of Mission Commander John Young, used in Lunar Module and Command Module docking maneuvers, which brought $65,725, while Command Module Pilot James Lovell's Apollo 8 Flown Crew Log was the subject of much intense bidding as it rose to a price of $56,762. Both prices include Buyer's Premium.

"Prices across the board were exceeding their estimates, sometimes even doubling and tripling them," said Michael Riley, Chief Cataloger and Senior Historian at Heritage Auctions. "It shows the ongoing appeal of space travel and, in particular, anything that was on, or close to, the moon's surface."

Of particular note was the enthusiastic collector response to an Apollo Guidance Computer Display Keyboard Unit. At a mere 15 pounds, with 19 keys and a 21 digit display, it commanded a heavyweight price with a final price of $50, 787. The amazing little unit, or one like it, was mounted into the control panel of each lunar module and two were found in each command module.

"To think that a computer like this got us to the moon and back is an amazing thing," said Riley. "This interface unit permitted the astronauts to collect and provide flight information and was very important in the precise landings on the moon needed for a successful mission."

Further highlights include:

Apollo 16 Lunar Module Flown Landing Site Map Originally from the Personal Collection of Mission Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke, Certified and Signed, also Signed by John Young: A 10.5" x 7.5" B&W printed lunar surface map, number 21 of the 24 maps used aboard the Lunar Module Orion for navigation to its landing site, shown on this map. This map spent 72 hours on the moon on board The Lunar Module Orion, and was exposed to the lunar environment numerous times. Realized: $33,460.

Apollo 17 Flown Still-Sealed Package of 25 Beta Cloth Mission Insignia Patches Directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot Ron Evans: Twenty-five color Apollo 17 mission insignia printed on Beta cloth swatches of approximately 9" x 9" still enclosed in two heavy plastic bags, one approximately 12" x 10" inside another of approximately 14" x 12", all flown to the moon. Realized: $31,070.

Apollo 17 Lunar Module Flown Spacecraft Identification Plate Directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot Ron Evans: Three of these Lunar Module 12 Identification Plates were flown to the moon on Apollo 17 and returned to Grumman who then presented one ID plate to each crewmember. Of the 12 LMs completed by Grumman, nine were used on manned missions, six of which were moon landings. Apollo 17 was, to this very day, the last manned lunar landing mission. Realized: $31,070.

Russian Soyuz Flown Sokol KV-2 Pressurized Spacesuit: A complete crew "rescue" suit belonging to cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev, including helmet, avionics, gloves, boots, and slip-ons, as made by Zvedza. This model was first used on Soyuz T-2 in 1980 and is still in use today during launch and descent. Musabayev has flown on four missions, three as commander. Realized: $31,070.

Apollo 11 Flown American Flag, Crew-Signed on Presentation Certificate: A 5.75" x 3.75" silk U.S. flag mounted to a 10" x 12" color certificate printed with the words: "This Flag Traveled to the Moon with Apollo 11, the First Manned Lunar Landing, July 20, 1969/ APOLLO 11/ July 16-24, 1969/ Armstrong - Collins - Aldrin". Printed on the lower area is the Apollo 11 mission insignia surrounded by the crew's authentic signatures: "To Bob-/ With Best Wishes/Neil Armstrong", "M Collins", and "Buzz Aldrin". At the very bottom are printed the immortal words Armstrong spoke as he stepped onto the moon's surface: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Realized: $23,900.

Apollo 16 Lunar Module Flown Star Chart and G&N Dictionary Star List Originally from the Collection of Mission Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke, Certified and Signed: Not one, but two important objects that spent three days on the moon in the Lunar Module Orion during the flight of Apollo 16, April 16-27, 1972 with crewmembers John Young, Ken Mattingly, and Charlie Duke. Realized: $22,705.