DALLAS, TX.- The personal collections of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise and CBS News executive Robert Wussler, the man responsible for bringing the road to the moon into millions of living rooms, are coming to auction at Heritage Auctions’ Space Exploration Signature® Auction, Dec. 11–12 in Dallas.

Highlights from The Fred Haise Collection include an artifact so special it was directly associated with the critical power-conservation decisions that enabled the Apollo 13 crew’s survival: the Apollo 13: Lunar Module-Flown Systems Data Checklist, personally used by Haise during the Apollo 13 emergency. This manual played a direct role in the extraordinary effort to save Apollo 13 following the explosion of an oxygen tank in the Service Module on April 13, 1970. With the Command and Service Module rapidly losing electrical power, astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise were forced to abandon their lunar landing and use the Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat for their return to Earth. Of particular significance are multiple pages personally signed and inscribed by Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, certifying their presence aboard the spacecraft during its historic flight. The opening bid is $50,000.

Other highlights from The Fred Haise Collection include his Apollo 13: Lunar Module Pilot Moon-Flown Beta Cloth Personal Preference Kit (PPK) Bag, a truly rare and desirable moon-flown artifact. The only other Apollo 13 flown PPK that Heritage has offered belonged to James Lovell. The opening bid is $35,000.

Also from Haise’s collection is his Apollo 13: Flown American Flag. This U.S. flag flew with crewmembers James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise on NASA’s “most successful failure.” The opening bid is $2,500.

CBS News executive Robert Wussler was the man responsible for bringing the road to the moon into the living room of millions of Americans. From Walter Cronkite’s voice to the launch countdown on the screen, and using models to explain the next spacecraft maneuvers, Robert Wussler was directly involved in all of it.

Highlights from the Wussler collection include:

• An Apollo: Saturn V George C. Marshall Space Flight Center 1/96 Scale Launch Vehicle Model with Original Carrying Case — opening bid: $10,000

• An Apollo: Uprated Saturn I (Saturn IB) George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Launch Vehicle Model — opening bid: $5,000

• A Gemini Program: McDonnell Company Presentation Display Featuring Gemini Heat Shield Material, presented to the executive — opening bid: $1,000

It was just 66 years from the first flights at Kitty Hawk to the first lunar landing, and collectors now can own an artifact that was present at both of the most significant flights in the history of aviation. From The Armstrong Family Collection™, a square section of beige muslin that measures about 1-¼ inches in each direction removed from the left wing of the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer is ready to take off into a new collection. The fabric was present for the first successful powered, controlled flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., Dec. 17, 1903, and the first manned lunar landing at Tranquility Base July 20, 1969. The opening bid is $25,000.

Other auction highlights include, but are not limited to:

A Medal Flown on Mankind’s First Lunar Landing Mission: an Apollo 11: Flown MS67 NGC Sterling Silver Robbins Medallion, Serial Number 361, Directly from The Armstrong Family Collection™. Opening bid is $15,000.