An Apollo 17 (1972) flown Robbins medal is among the top lots of an online sale at Nate D Sanders that closes on May 29.
It carries an opening bid of $45,000.
 The Robbins medal is one of 80 flown aboard the Apollo 17 mission |
The lot was once owned by Jack Swigert (1931-1982), one of the astronauts aboard the "successful-failure" Apollo 13 mission in 1970. Although 300 such medals were made, only 80 were ever flown - far fewer than on previous Apollo missions.
Previous examples have achieved strong results at auction, with one selling for $53,775 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas in November 2012.
Another Swigert-owned Robbins medal, this time from the Apollo 11 mission, will auction with an opening bid of $25,000.
Bidding on a rare collection of flown beta cloth patches from Swigert's Apollo 13 spacesuit will start at $30,000.
They consist of a NASA logo, crew members nametag, mission insignia and American flag. Beta cloth is a fire retardant material that was designed after the Apollo 1 tragedy.
 Swigert wore the patches on his spacesuit |
A letter of authenticity from Swigert's sister accompanies each of the lots in the sale.
We have some fascinating pieces of space memorabilia available, including this complete set of signed business cards from the Apollo 11 crew.
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