Lot 40653B – Apollo 13 Moon Mission Cover

APOLLO 13 MOON MISSION COVER

1970 (April 19) Apollo 13 limited edition commemorative cover numbered 23 of 50, illustrated with a stamped insignia of the mission at left, printed « FLOWN AROUND THE MOON IN « ODYSSEY-APOLLO 13 » and carried on board the command module « Odyssey » by commander James Lovell, signed on front by the three astronauts James Lovell, Ken Mattingly (command module pilot) and Fred Haise (lunar module pilot), also showing on back flap the signature of Lovell preceded by his manuscript flight-certification: « This cover (#23 of 50) was carried into space and around the moon on the flight of Apollo 13, approved as storage in my personal preference kit, James Lovell »; bearing on front 1969 6c tied by « ELLINGTON AIR FORCE BASE, TX/77030 » duplex, cancelled two days after the landing of Lovell and the rest of the crew, who delivered the covers to Matthew I. Radnofsky (former NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club President), who returned them to Lovell once they were cancelled. A significant cover carried by Lovell around the moon, an extremely desirable space item from the Apollo 13, this being much more popular and rarer than those from other missions; signed Alberto Bollaffi and Enzo Diena (« per esteso » with their complete names as they used to do to sign important rarities).

Note: The Apollo 13 avoided tragedy after an explosion in the service module which consequently aborted the landing, forcing the crew to use the lunar module to orbit around the moon, following a safe flight to Earth with the involvement of Lovell to manually adjust the course twice, landing with this item on April 17th; this mission was dramatized in the famous « Apollo 13 » film in 1995.