Charlie Duke’s flown interior diagram of the Lunar Module Orion’s cabin that was carried to the moon’s surface and exposed to the vacuum of space while in use inside the Orion during the historic Apollo 16 mission. The printed diagram, 10.25 x 10.5, identified below as “Apron 3.1,” features a front-facing view of the Orion’s cabin with an emphasis on components like forward, overhead, and side panel floodlights, the Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS), the sequence camera, and dock window, and is signed and flight-certified below in black felt tip, “This diagram was used by John Young + myself aboard our Lunar Module ‘Orion,’ on the Cayley Plains of the moon! — April 20-23, 1972 — Charles M. Duke, Jr., Moonwalker.” Additionally, Duke has titled the diagram above, “Lunar Module ‘Orion,’ — Interior Diagram —,” and has annotated six other vital systems and devices: “CDR’s Throttle,” “CDR’s LEVA,” “CDR’s PLSS,” “CDR’s Joystick,” “LMP’s Throttle,” and “LMP’s LEVA.” Includes a signed certificate of authenticity from Duke, who’s pictured below holding the offered diagram, which reads: “This is to certify that the accompanying Interior Cabin Diagram of the Apollo 16 Lunar Module Orion, bearing traces of lunar dust, was flown to the Descartes Highlands of the Moon, where it landed on April 201972. This diagram then spent the next three days on the Moon's surface, housed in the Orion…The chart bears traces of lunar dust, resulting from its exposure to the Moon's environment each time we depressurized our cabin and opened the hatch. Astronauts were allowed to keep disposable items as personal mementos after the flight, and I chose to include this diagram among mine. Today, it remains among the finest astronaut flight-certified objects on Earth ever flown to the surface of another world. It has also been a treasured part of my personal space collection since April 1972.” Archivally matted and framed together with an EVA photo of Young on the moon to an overall size of 36.5 x 17. In fine condition.
From the lifetime collection of noted space collector Jim Ruddy.
