A hand controller used to land the Apollo 15 mission on the surface of the Moon has sold with outstanding results at RR Auction.

The controller is described by Dave Scott as 'especially significant'

In an online auction that closed last night (May 22), the controller reached a final bid of $498,011 ($610,063 with buyer's premium), boosted by its provenance direct from the collection of astronaut Dave Scott, who was part of the Apollo 15 mission.

That's a new record for US space memorabilia.

The controller came with an incredibly detailed 2-page letter from Scott, reading in part: "I hereby certify that the Rotational Hand Controller (RHC) included with this letter was used to manoeuvre the Lunar Module 'Falcon' during the Apollo 15 descent and landing on the Moon; and after 3 days on the surface of the Moon, this RHC was used during lunar launch, ascent and rendezvous with the Command and Service Module, 'Endeavor,' in lunar orbit…"

Also from the Apollo 15 mission was a flown crewman optical alignment sight, which sold for $103,004.

With Apollo 11 memorabilia always seeing strong results, a single liner glove worn inside Buzz Aldrin's spacesuit made $54,966, with RR Auction adding: "This liner is about as close as a collector can get to owning a piece of any Apollo 11 spacesuit."

The Apollo 11 spacesuits and much of the quality memorabilia from the landmark voyage is housed in the Smithsonian Museum, meaning very little is available to collectors.

Paul Fraser Collectibles has a fantastic selection of space memorabilia for sale, with Neil Armstrong autographs and Apollo 11 items among the highlights.