Backpack strap used by Apollo 14 moonwalker sells for $41K

BOSTON — A backpack strap used by an Apollo 14 astronaut as he moved around the surface of the moon in 1971 has sold at auction for nearly $42,000.

Massachusetts-based RR Auction says the strap that Edgar Mitchell brought back as a souvenir of the mission fetched $41,806 this week. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed.

Mitchell spent nearly 9½ hours on the lunar surface, where he left the life support backpack before returning to Earth. Astronauts typically left such items on the moon to save weight and offset the moon rocks they needed to bring back with them.

The suit he wore is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.