Buzz Aldrin's pen that saved his moon mission sold for more than $850,000

The pen Buzz Aldrin used to fix his spacecraft on the moon sold for a lot of money.

Published 15 July 2026 106 words
SCIENCE A1
Buzz Aldrin's pen that saved his moon mission sold for more than $850,000

Buzz Aldrin is an astronaut. He went to the moon in 1969. He used a special pen to fix his spaceship. The pen sold at an auction for more than $850,000.

The pen was needed to help Aldrin and Neil Armstrong leave the moon. If they could not leave, they would be stuck on the moon forever. Many people wanted to buy the pen. Five people tried to buy it. The person who bought it also got the broken part of the spaceship.

The pen is important because it helped the astronauts come home. Aldrin decided to use the pen because it was not metal. It worked and saved their mission. Now, NASA plans to go back to the moon.

Vocabulary

astronaut — A person who travels into space.
mission — A special trip or journey to do something, like go to space.
auction — A sale where people buy things by offering money for them.
spaceship — A vehicle that travels in space.
stuck — Unable to move or leave.

Discussion Questions

  1. What did Buzz Aldrin use to fix the spaceship?
  2. Why was the pen so important for the astronauts?
  3. What is NASA planning to do now?

Based on an article from The Guardian.

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