Collecting space memorabilia is an older hobby than you might think.

If we take in those pioneers who were picking up pieces of meteorites from the late 18th century.

And were you to be really broad in your chronology you’d include Nicholaus Copernicus, the Polish pioneer who told the world, in the early 16th century that the Sun was at the centre of the universe.

The 1902 film The Man in the Moon might be added to a broadly conceived space  memorabilia collection. 

And throwing in some cultural figures might bring in sci-fi pioneer H G Wells or futurist music pioneer Joe Meek.

But for our purposes today we’re looking at the modern space age that dawned with the bleeping, Cold War heating, space race-starting orbit of Sputnik 1 in 1957.

And we’re looking at those directly involved in space programmes.

And in doing so we’re very much following the market.

5. Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe has left a considerable legacy that still inspires American children to this day. 

It is an unfortunate truth of collecting that tragedy often adds value and appeal.

Christa McAuliffe is probably the most famous victim of the space programme.

When the risks of flying into space are considered, the safety record of all space programmes is extraordinary.

The most spectacular failure of that record happened on January 28, 1986 when the US Space Shuttle Challenger exploded not long after launch, killing everyone on board.

McAuliffe had won her place on the flight as part of a Teacher in Space Project.

The awful tragedy of her death still moves us today. And the fact that she wasn’t a public figure means there are very few of the artefacts a public life would generate.

McAuliffe’s autograph alone costs several thousand dollars, and she is remembered in numerous institutional dedications across the USA. 

4. James Lovell

Lovell preparing for a Gemini flight, he had a long NASA career. 

James Lovell’s space story is not of tragedy, but it so nearly was.

The Apollo 13 mission should have gone to the Moon.

It ended up limping home with its crew crammed into the Lunar Module.

Their survival was extraordinary and a genuinely astounding story of human innovation and courage.

Lovell had a long NASA career and is the veteran of several space flights.

He has been to the Moon twice, but never walked on its surface.

Because Apollo 13 looped around the Moon to get home he is the joint record holder for the furthest from earth a human has been.

As of this writing, he’s still alive, aged 96.

Items related to Apollo 13 are extremely collectible, and Lovell’s role in the flight makes him one of the best known US astronauts.

3. Yuri Gagarin

Gagarin on a Russian coin from 2001, he was one of the most famous people in the world during his lifetime. 

There are issues around Gagarin in 2024.

Russia, since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, is basically cut off from much of the world.

Gagarin was born in the Russian part of Soviet Union in 1934, in the far west of the country near Smolensk.

And he’s a first.

And that still matters.

Gagarin was, is and always will be, the first human being in space.

In 1961 he flew around the Earth in Vostok 1 and became in just under 2 hours probably the most famous man on the planet below.

His was a genuinely Soviet success story. He’d been a steel foundry worker before joining the airforce.

He was an enormous hero in his home country, but also globally, seeming to signal a pause in the stand off of the Cold War for a short period.

The Soviet Union was the winner in the early stages of the Space Race, but the US pushed ahead through the 1960s and beyond.

Like many astro- (and cosmo-) nauts Gagarin was a military pilot, and tragically he died in a crash in 1968.

His autograph is highly prized and very valuable, going for around £1,000 at the least expensive.

One of the Vostok capsules used in the programme is the most valuable space item ever sold, going for nearly $3 million in 2011.

2. Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin in a NASA portrait celebrating his landmark lunar journey. 

Buzz is a very memorable chap with a very memorable name.

Of all NASA astronauts he’s probably the most public figure.

And, he’s sold a lot of his own memorabilia, genuinely helping the market for space collectibles to grow.

While much Apollo 11, the first lunar landing, material is in museums, Aldrin’s personal collections are obviously extensive.

A 2022 sale of Aldrin-owned objects made over $8 million at auction, with a flight worn jacket making $2.7 million.

His Moon landing - he was famously the second man on the Moon - was the peak of his NASA career, which included a Gemini mission alongside James Lovell.

A colourful private life and numerous media, TV and film appearances only add to his allure.

He’s still around, well into his 90s.

1. Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong in a Gemini spacesuit. Apollo 11 was the climax of his NASA career and his final space mission. 

Neil Armstrong is the first name most people will come up with if you ask them to name an astronaut.

He’s also among the most quoted men in history.

On July 20, 1969 his “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” announced that our species had set foot on another celestial body for the first time.

Before the Aldrin jacket sale, a Robbins medal awarded to Armstrong was the most expensive US space artefact, selling for $2 million in 2019.

Armstrong passed away in 2012. This will only add value to his autograph, which is already extremely valuable, going for several thousands of pounds on the right document and in good condition.

If Aldrin was a larger than life character, Armstrong was the opposite, and although he was hardly the recluse of some accounts he led a relatively quiet life after his space heroics.

Buying space collectibles today

These individuals all took part in a great collective endeavour.

And it’s as collectives that they are most prized by collectors.

An Apollo 11 crew artefact - and apologies to Michael Collins who is not listed here - is much more valuable than any single astronaut’s possessions.

As mankind looks towards space travel again it seems likely that space memorabilia will become even more collectible in future.

If you’ve already bought then you should see good returns.

We have a collection of space collectibles here.

And to find out more about our collections and to find out when we secure new items for sale then just sign up here for our free newsletter. You’ll never miss out again.