For sale: cheeky mementos of the moonshot pranksters

Page from Apollo 16 astronaut's checklist
Pages from the cuff-mounted checklist worn by Charles Duke on the surface of the moon, estimated value $200,000–$300,000. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features

After a textbook landing, Charlie Duke climbed down to the dusty surface of the moon, unpacked the Apollo 16 rover and checked his manual to see what to do next. Instead of more technical instructions, he found a hand-drawn cartoon of an astronaut embracing a buxom, naked woman.

The prank illustration, added by mischievous support crew back on Earth, followed a tradition of sneaking Snoopy cartoons and other joke pictures into the astronauts' spiral-bound checklists. The one used by Duke, still grey with moon dust, was presented to fellow astronaut Fred Haise as a thank-you for his role as backup commander on the 1972 mission.

Tomorrow, after a rather shorter journey from New York to London, Duke's checklist goes on display at Bonhams in Knightsbridge with a haul of other space race curiosities to be sold at auction this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of the first moon landings.

The sale of around 400 rare and historic items shines a light on the seemingly archaic technology that put man on the moon, and the poignant measures astronauts took to ensure their loved ones would be taken care of, should they not return.

Many of the items are originally from astronauts' personal collections and are accompanied by letters explaining their significance. The checklist used by Duke was standard issue for crew on the later Apollo missions and was there to ensure astronauts remembered what to do during their moon walks. The final pages urge astronauts to leave the moon as they found it, with the words: "Clean up area, make sure everything is well under the LM [lunar module]."

The collection includes mementos originally owned by Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong. Among them are three pages of instructions from the Apollo 11 mission which Armstrong used to set the Eagle lander down on the lunar surface on 20 July 1969. The sheets are signed by Aldrin and could sell for $175,000 at auction.

One immediate task Armstrong and Aldrin faced after touching down for the first time was working out where they were. For this, they were issued with a star chart the size of a small plate. The chart, which is still tinted with moon dust, was considered crucial equipment by the Apollo astronauts and is expected to fetch over $70,000."This star chart was the single most critical navigational device we used while on the moon," an accompanying letter from Aldrin says.

This article was amended on 29 April 2009. The original omitted the name of the company auctioning the mementos. This has been corrected.

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