An Apollo 15 flown lunar surface EVA retractable tether headlined RR Auction's August 13 online sale, achieving $26,246.

The lot is known to astronauts as a yo-yo and was carried by lunar module pilot Jim Irwin.

Apollo 15's Jim Irwin on the lunar surface

It's accompanied by a letter of provenance from Apollo 15 commander Dave Scott that reads, in part: "I hereby certify that the EVA Retractable Tether ('Yo-yo') included with this letter was used by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Jim Irwin during the lunar surface activities of Apollo 15…

"The purpose of the Yo-yo was to enable the astronaut to carry certain tools attached to his spacesuit and be readily available without having to carry them by hand.

"These include the scoop and tongs, both of which were used by Jim Irwin in sampling rocks and soil near Elbow crater on the Moon during EVA-1."

RR Auction sold an Apollo 15 hand controller for $610,000 in May.

A set of scissors carried by Scott on the Apollo 9 mission also performed well, selling for $19,500.

In a letter of provenance he reveals their mundane function: "Although they could have many other contingency uses during a flight, the key role of these scissors on Apollo missions was to open plastic spoon-bowl food pouches."

We have a copy of the nuclear test ban treaty autographed by Scott.  

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