

Sotheby's is selling three tapes that contain never-before-seen NASA footage of the 1969 moon landing. The tapes were unknowingly sold to an intern in 1976 who didn't view them for 30 years.



Now, NASA’s blunder will belong to the highest bidder: the three surviving videotapes of the seminal moment in space exploration are up for auction–at a starting bid of $700,000.


The two-and-a-half hours of footage provide the sharpest image of the history-making mission ever recorded, from Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon’s surface to an interplanetary conversation with then-President Richard Nixon to the planting of the American flag.


He resold most of the tapes to local TV stations for a profit but held onto three of them labeled “APOLLO 11 EVA | July 20, 1969 REEL 1 [-3]” at his father’s suggestion, according to Soethby’s.


More than 30 years later, after George heard NASA was trying to track down the footage for the moon landing’s 40th anniversary, he took the unidentified tapes to a video archivist and viewed them for the first time.

It was then he realized he’d accidentally purchased the sharpest footage of the lunar landing ever recorded.

Whoever purchases the footage will join an exclusive club of viewers: George watched the tapes once more to digitize them and save them on a hard drive, which is included in the tapes’ sale. Sotheby’s staff viewed them once to assess their quality, which they found to be “faultless.”

Still, it’s unlikely the highest bidder will snag a bargain like George did.
