A flown Apollo 13 checklist has sold for $42,500.

It was the star lot of Heritage Auctions' Space Exploration sale in Dallas on November 11.

The booklet is signed by all three members of the crew and was used during the 1970 mission, which nearly ended in disaster when an oxygen tank blew three days after launch.

The Apollo 13 mission nearly ended in disaster

The crew managed to repurpose the lunar module as an escape pod to return safely to Earth.

Lunar module pilot Fred Haise explains in a letter of provenance: "The Mission stands out as an epic example of training and teamwork overcoming a great challenge.

"Many individuals from NASA and our contractor team worked around the clock to ensure our safe return…

"This checklist was awarded to [its preparer] Dennis Bentley after the flight in recognition of his many hours spent as the Manager of this document that helped us get off to a good start on the Mission."

Other top lots included a rare Apollo 11 flown insurance cover, which realised $40,000.

Only 1,000 such covers were printed, with around 214 actually flown on the mission.

Unsurprisingly insurance companies were reluctant to insure the pioneers of space flight.

These covers were designed to be sold to collectors to raise money for the astronauts' families, should the worst happen.