The WestLicht Photographica Auction in Vienna registered a hammer price of 550,000 euros (660,000 euros with the buyer's premium, or about $910,400 US) for a Hasselblad Electronic Data Camera (EDC) that the gallery described as having been used by astronaut James Irwin during the Apollo 15 mission.

 

"This Hasselblad used on the fourth NASA [moon landing] mission between July 26th to August 7th, 1971 made its way back to Earth, finally landing at the WestLicht auction house," the sale's organizers wrote. [NASA's Apollo Moon Missions: A Photo Timeline]

 

The final sale price far surpassed the 150,000 to 200,000 euros (about $200,000 to $275,000) that WestLicht had estimated the lunar Hasselblad to be worth. The camera's lot opened for sale at 80,000 euros (about $110,000).

WestLicht identified the camera’s winning bidder as Japanese businessman Terukazu Fujisawa, founder of retail chain Yodobashi Camera, in a statement released on Monday (March 24).