DM
Washington -A miniscule copy of the Bible which has travelled to the Moon is expected to sell for £35,000.
The tiny book, one of only a few objects to go into space twice, was sent into orbit with Apollo 13 in 1970. When the mission went wrong and the trip to the Moon was aborted, the astronauts may have used the Bible to pray. It was recovered when they splashed down in the Pacific.
The lunar Bible, which can only be read by microscope, was sent back up the following year with Apollo 14, finally landing on the Moon among the personal belongings of astronaut Edgar Mitchell. The Bible was one of 512 made by the Apollo Prayer League, a group of Christians with ties to the US space programme.
They were first produced in the wake of the Apollo 1 disaster, in which three astronauts were killed when a fire broke out on-board during a launch rehearsal. It had been the dream of one of the astronauts, Ed White, to take a Bible into space, so the Apollo Prayer League took on the challenge in his memory.
They used microform technology to shrink the Bible’s 1,245 pages to just 1.5 inches which could then be read under a microscope. Bibles were sent up with the Apollo 12 and 13 missions but both attempts to land on the Moon were thwarted.
After two failed attempts, the Apollo Prayer League, led by Reverend John Stout, finally succeeded in 1971 with Apollo 14. Lunar module operator Mitchell stowed 100 bibles among a small bag of belongings that he took on the successful moon landing on February 5, 1971.
The Bible for sale is one of only 12 lunar Bibles verified by Mitchell and comes with a certificate of authenticity. It is tipped to fetch £35,000 when it goes under the hammer in Dallas on Wednesday. Michael Riley, a historian at Heritage Auctions, said: ‘The lunar Bible was invented by the Apollo Prayer League, a group of people in Houston led by Reverend John Stout who prayed for the astronauts.
‘Using microform technology they were able to shrink a full copy of the Bible to a size small enough to be transported to space with an astronaut. ‘The idea behind it was simply to take God’s words to the moon. ‘For the Apollo 14 flight 300 lunar Bibles were sent, and this particular one was among the 100 stowed in Edgsar Mitchell’s personal preference kit when he landed on the moon.
‘This copy has an unbroken line of provenance, having been given by John Stout to his brother James, and it has been certified by them both, as well as by Edgar Mitchell. ‘This Bible is one of the few objects ever to go into space twice, which makes it a real rarity.
‘Collectors go crazy for memorabilia from the Apollo 13 mission on its own but this Bible then went back to space with Apollo 14. ‘That makes it a pretty special item.’ It goes under the hammer at auction in Dallas on Wednesday.