Apollo 11 Flown EVA Tether from the Buzz Aldrin Collection


EVA Retractable Tether	EVA Retractable Tether

Astronaut Aldrin On The Moon	Close-up Of Clip On EVA Retractable Tether

Astronaut Aldrin Retrieves Solar Wind Experiment	Close-up Of Back Of Clip On Retractable Tether

This Retractable EVA Tether was flown to the Moon on Apollo 11. This piece of lunar EVA equipment is often referred to as the "yo-yo". In photos of Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the Moon, the clip from this retractable tether is clearly visible.

The origin of this artifact is from the Buzz Aldrin collection. Astronaut Aldrin consigned this retractable tether to Superior Galleries for auction. On January 11, 1993, this tether was auctioned in the 1993 Space Auction conducted by Superior Galleries.

The tether was lot number 242 in that auction. The actual purpose of this artifact was ambiguously described in the auction catalog. The description from the auction catalog stated, "Flown Objects 242. Anti-weightlessness clip. An unusual white 1 1/2 inch spring loaded clip (#SEB33100292-302, ASSY S/N 1001) which itself has a brown loop/snap attached. Specifically designed for NASA, this was used on the flight to prevent small items from floating away in weightlessness."

The Earth To The Moon Air & Space Museum acquired this artifact from the Superior Galleries auction.

The part number on the retraction mechanism is "P/N SEB33100291-301 ASSY S/N 1001"

On April 11, 2003, Swann Galleries placed up for auction a similar Retractable EVA Tether that belonged to Astronaut Gene Cernan. Cernan's tether was used by him during the Apollo 17 mission. Cernan's tether was lot number 226 in Swann's sale number 1967.

The description in the Swann Galleries auction catalog stated, 'One of the Few Operational Tools ever returned from The Lunar Surface FLown Apollo XVII Retractable EVA Tether. Often referred to as the "yo-yo" approximately 2x1x1 inch metal cube with a brown snap loop attachment for connecting to the EVA space suit. The cube houses a retractable line that is connected to a spring clip. The cube is engraved with part number "SEB33100291-305, S/N 1015" and the clip is stamped with part number "SEB33100292-302, S/N 1015".'

Note the similarity in SEB part numbers between Aldrin's Apollo 11 artifact and Cernan's Apollo 17 artifact. The photo of the Cernan tether in the Swann catalog showed a piece of equipment, identical to what you see here.

During the lunar EVA's these tethers were attached to the waist of the EVA suit. The EVA suits were very stiff and made it difficult to bend down to the lunar surface. The EVA retractable tethers were used to clip on to tools being used by the astronauts. If an astronaut dropped a tool, it was a simple matter to reel it in using the cord on the tether.

The photos above show Astronaut Aldrin wearing this tether on the Moon during the first walk by man on another world. In those photos the clip is clearly visible, although the retraction mechanism is obscured by his PLSS hoses.