Apollo 11

The space agency has asked Boston-based RR Auction to halt the sale of moon dust collected during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that had subsequently been fed to cockroaches during an experiment to determine if the lunar rock contained any sort of pathogen that posed a threat to terrestrial life.

On July 21, 1969, after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon, Armstrong gathered a small “contingency sample” of lunar dust before carrying out the rest of his planned activities.

Collins was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.