Incredible flown spoon carried to the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission and used by Edgar Mitchell as his exclusive eating utensil in the Lunar Module Antares. The spoon measures 7″ in length, with the handle featuring the NASA logo and engraved text: "Edgar D. Mitchell, LM-8 LMP." The spoon is accompanied by its original plastic packaging with Velcro swatch, as well as by a color photo of Mitchell holding the spoon inside its packaging, with Mitchell signing in black felt tip below a preprinted statement: "This is my Apollo 14 Lunar Module Spoon, which was my eating utensil in the Antares on the Moon!"
Also included is a signed certificate of authenticity from Mitchell, who states: “I Certify that the accompanying Apollo 14 Lunar Module Spoon which bears the engraved words ‘Edgar D. Mitchell LMP’ is the eating utensil that I used aboard the Apollo 14 Lunar Module Antares, during my stay with Alan Shepard on the Fra Mauro Highlands of the Moon, during February 5th and 6th, 1971.”
Mitchell continues with a humorous account of his lunar eating experience: “Dining on the Moon during the Apollo Lunar landings was never a particularly luxurious affair. On the positive side, though, we never encountered any difficulty securing a dinner reservation! The first step in Lunar dining, after making our vintage wine selection from the wine cellar in the Antares, called for us to re-hydrate our food, within its plastic packaging, using a special water-gun. We then ate the resulting gourmet ‘food-paste’ using our individual spoons, of which this example was mine. During this spoon’s stay on the Moon in the Antares, it was directly exposed to the Lunar environment each time Alan and I opened our hatch to go out for a Lunar stroll, or to play a few holes of Lunar golf. Astronauts were permitted to keep disposable items from their flights as personal mementos and I chose to include this Lunar spoon among mine. It has remained a precious part of my personal space collection since its return to Earth, and return[ed] to me by NASA from Lunar quarantine, in 1971.” The spoon and its certificates are all attractively matted and framed to an overall size of 13.25 x 32.25. In fine condition.
