Shovel used by US astronauts on the moon sells for astronomical amount

A SHOVEL used by US astronauts on the moon has sold for £720,000.

The “moon rock scoop” helped collect 211lb of lunar samples during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

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Astronaut Charlie Duke with the shovel he kept for 51 years but has now sold[/caption]

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The moon shovel sold for £720,000 at auction[/caption]

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The ‘moon rock scoop’ helped collect 211lb of lunar samples during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972[/caption]

This included the 26lb “Big Muley”, the largest rock collected during the Apollo missions.

The 5.5in shovel, with spring-loaded buttons to make its head rotate, was used by Charlie Duke.

It can be seen in ­footage of the mission, including clips where Duke — the youngest man to walk on the moon at 36 — collects lunar soil.

Duke, 88, kept the shovel for 51 years but has now sold it at RR Auction, of Boston, US.

He said: “During our 72 hours on the moon, we used this shovel and other tools to collect rock and soil samples.”

Apollo 16 took place three years after Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.

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The 5.5in shovel has spring-loaded buttons to make its head rotate[/caption]

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Charlie Duke said: ‘During our 72 hours on the moon, we used this shovel and other tools to collect rock and soil samples’[/caption]