A painting by Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean titled John F Kennedy's Vision realised $74,938 at RR Auction in a sale that closed on October 20.

The accomplished piece shows Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting the American flag on the Moon.

Alan Bean was the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 12 mission

It contains actual Moon dust, which Bean pressed into the surface of the canvas with the boots he wore during the Apollo 12 mission.

Bean explained the title of the work: "At the beginning of John F. Kennedy's presidency the people of the United States of America were in crisis.

"Were our basic beliefs, our way of life the best, or was communism the wave of the future?

"…Our president, John F. Kennedy, could feel the discouragement.

"As leader of the free world he knew our country needed a bold stroke. In 1961 he proclaimed before Congress that America would reach the Moon 'before the decade is out.'"

Other highlights included a topographical map of the Moon used by commander Dave Scott while driving the Lunar Rover during the Apollo 15 mission.

It shows the Hadley Rille, a valley in the region of the Hadley Apennines that was one of the main sites the astronauts explored.

Scott comments in a letter of provenance: "This map was mounted on the Rover throughout the three days of surface excursions to be readily available…

"The Map contains traces of lunar dust surface and was exposed to the temperatures extremes, radiation, and Solar Wind on the surface of the Moon."