DALLAS – An Apollo 11 Lunar Module flown American flag and embroidered Mission Insignia patch that was presented to and directly from the estate of NASA engineer and leader Chris Kraft soared to $137,500 at Heritage Auctions’ Space Exploration Auction May 21-22. The flag was presented in a framed display.

The flag comes from the personal collection of Kraft, NASA’s first flight director, director of all of the Mercury missions and head of missions operations for Project Gemini. Kraft was the director of the Johnson Space Center for a decade during a crucial time in NASA’s history, and came up with the concept of NASA’s Mission Control, which now bears his name. He later oversaw the development of the Space Shuttle program. Kraft died in 2019.

To have both a flag and a patch flown to the surface of the moon in one presentation piece is extremely desirable. The fact that it was presented to such an important figure only increases its appeal.

Watch for a full review in a future issue.