Business

$217 NASA tapes sold for $1.82M after 43 years

By Sohail Khan 13 September 2026, 9:04 pm

Benchmarks
Nifty23,398.10-79.71

FEATURED FUNDS★★★★★

Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund Direct-Growth

5Y Return
21.93 %

Invest Now

Enter search text:

Business News›News›International›Global Trends›A NASA intern Gary George paid $217 for 1,150 NASA tapes; 43 years later, 3 Apollo 11 recordings showing Neil Armstrong sold for $1.82 million

Read Today's Paper

A NASA intern Gary George paid $217 for 1,150 NASA tapes; 43 years later, 3 Apollo 11 recordings showing Neil Armstrong sold for $1.82 million
Synopsis

Former NASA intern Gary George spent just $217.77 on 1,150 surplus NASA videotapes in 1976, unaware that three reels contained rare first-generation footage of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon. Around 43 years later, the Apollo 11 tapes sold at Sotheby’s for $1.82 million, making Gary George a millionaire.

How a former NASA intern bought 1,150 tapes for $217 and ended up with Neil Armstrong’s rare Apollo 11 moonwalk recording worth $1.82 million<br> — The three reels contained first-generation recordings of the Apollo 11 lunar EVA, or extravehicular activity — essentially the historic moonwalk

In 1976, Gary George was a college engineering student and former NASA intern when he spent just $217.77 on about 1,150 reels of magnetic tape at a government surplus auction in Houston. He bought them because he thought he could resell the tapes to television stations. But he would have never imagined that these three reels contained some of the clearest surviving recordings of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon during Apollo 11. More than four decades later, those three tapes sold at Sotheby’s for $1.82 million, according to reports.

Gary George had previously worked as a cooperative engineering intern at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. In June 1976, he attended a government surplus auction at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. Among the items was a huge lot of roughly 1,150 reels of magnetic tape marked as belonging to NASA and he paid $217.77 for the entire lot. Sotheby's says George sold some of the tapes and also donated others but three reels changed his life forever.

ALSO READ: University of Utah student Sara Larsen, daughter of Videra Health CEO, faces intense backlash over ‘Happy Kirkiversary’ cake celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination

His father noticed the words ‘Apollo 11’

The three important reels had labels identifying them as “APOLLO 11 EVA | July 20, 1969 REEL 1–3.” George's father, who was interested in the space program, noticed the labels and suggested that his son keep them. “I had no idea there was anything of value on them,” George later recalled. “I was selling them to TV stations just to record over.”

The three reels contained first-generation recordings of the Apollo 11 lunar EVA, or extravehicular activity — essentially the historic moonwalk. The footage includes Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the lunar surface, Buzz Aldrin moving around in the moon's low gravity, the astronauts planting the American flag, collecting lunar samples and speaking with then-President Richard Nixon.

The footage included Buzz Aldrin moving around in the moon's low gravity

Sotheby's described the tapes as the earliest, sharpest and most accurate surviving video images of the first steps on the moon. Unlike later versions broadcast to television audiences, these recordings were made directly from the NASA feed seen at Mission Control.

Why were the original Apollo 11 tapes so rare?

The incredible value of George's discovery was partly caused by something that happened decades earlier. NASA had recorded the moonwalk on videotape, but the original recordings were not treated as priceless historical artifacts at the time. Magnetic videotape was expensive, and recordings could be erased and reused.

NASA later searched for its original Apollo 11 recordings but could not locate them. The space agency eventually concluded that the original slow-scan recordings had likely been erased and reused, while other recordings had either been lost or damaged. That made George's three reels extraordinarily important.

The remarkable part of the story is that George didn't immediately realize what he had. He simply kept the three reels for around 43 years.

ALSO READ: Billionaire Brewers owner Mark Attanasio ordered to give up $2million property after Malibu ‘stolen’ sand dispute

The tapes eventually became a $1.82 million discovery

For decades, they moved with him while he travelled around the country. He didn't even play them until years later because the equipment required to read the old format was difficult to find. Then, in 2008, George learned that NASA was looking for its missing Apollo 11 recordings.

The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission crew is seen, from left: Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Aldrin, lunar module pilot. Wikimedia Commons

“I was sitting at the table drinking a beer and I said, ‘Well damn, I have those,’” George recalled. He eventually found a specialist studio with equipment capable of playing the vintage reels. When they were finally viewed, the recordings were found to be in remarkably good condition.

Sotheby's offered the three reels at its July 2019 Space Exploration auction in New York, exactly 50 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing. The auction house had estimated that the tapes could fetch between $1 million and $2 million and they ultimately sold for $1.82 million.

Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
Add Now!

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

(You can now subscribe to our WhatsApp channel)

Read More News on
NASA videotapesNeil ArmstrongApollo 11 tapesGary Georgemoon landingNeil Armstrong moonwalkApollo 11 moon landingNASA auctionSotheby’s Apollo 11rare NASA footage

Enter search text:

Continue reading with one of these options:
Limited Access
Free
Login to get access to some exclusive stories

& personalised newsletters
Login Now

Unlimited Access
Starting @ Rs120/month
Get access to exclusive stories, expert opinions &

in-depth stock reports
Subscribe Now

Unlock Access to All Exclusives with ETPrime FREE TRIAL

15 Days Free: Unlock All ETPrime Exclusives, Market Tools & ePapers

Trial offer expiring in00 : 05 : 00

I'd rather pay ₹2599 now

Uh-oh! This is an exclusive story available for selected readers only.

Worry not. You’re just a step away.

Prime Account Detected!

It seems like you're already an ETPrime member with

Log out of your current logged-in account and log in again using your ET Prime credentials to enjoy all member benefits.

Unlock ETPrime's Exclusive Stories Today!

Subscribe to gain powerful insights on business, stock market and industry trends.

Big Price Drop! Flat 40% Off

Student Only Offer

Already a Member? Sign In now

Already a Member? Sign In now
Already a Member? Sign In now

Offer Exclusively For You

Save up to Rs. 700/-

ON ET PRIME MEMBERSHIP

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get 1 Year Free

With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

Get Flat 40% Off

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Offer Exclusively For You

ET Prime at ₹ 49 for 1 month

Then ₹ 1749 for 1 year

Avail Offer

Special Offer

Get flat 40% off on ETPrime

Avail Offer
Avail Offer

Claim NowAlready a Member? Sign In now

Need Assistance?

Connect with an ETPrime expert for personalized support and guidance

+91 9484700004

' + h3 + '

' + h4 + '

' + listing + '

What’s Included with

ETPrime Membership

1Exclusive Insights That Matter

Uncover the truth with our investigative stories

Make strategic moves using the real-world case studies

Read industry-specific stories to identify emerging trends

Spot opportunities with in-depth insights that matter

Trump temper on H-1B visas is forcing Indians to do these things to stay put in US

What Adani’s US indictment means for India Inc’s overseas fundraising
Why veterans like Reliance, L&T are on acquisition spree? Aswath Damodaran has an answer.

Will China’s dollar bond sale in Saudi Arabia trump the US in financial world?
Huawei launches its own OS to compete with Google and Apple. But can it win beyond China?

The problem with lab grown diamonds
Why a falling rupee is a better option for the economy

A list of top 20 momentum stocks that have delivered massive returns in one year