Buzz Aldrin's first 'space selfie' among vintage Nasa images to go under the hammer

Buzz Aldrin took this photo of himself during the Gemini 12 mission in 1966. Credit: Bloomsbury Auctions

Hundreds of vintage photographs taken from the early years of Nasa space exploration are going under the hammer for a combined estimated price of around £647,000.

They include the first image ever to be taken in space, taken 65 miles from the surface in November 1946, as well as what has been dubbed the "world's best selfie" - the first self-portrait photograph taken by Buzz Aldrin in 1966, which he tweeted last year.

The prints are all vintage and date back several decades, rather than being modern reproductions, with an estimated price of between £200 and £10,000 each.

Lot 2: Clyde Holliday, - The first photograph from space, 24 October 1946 Credit: Bloomsbury Auctions
Lot 14: John Glenn inside the Friendship 7 capsule Credit: Bloomsbury Auctions

The set, titled From the Earth to the Moon: Vintage Nasa Photographs, all come from the same Europe-based collector.They will go on the block at 10.30am on Thursday at Bloomsbury Auction House in London.

Other images include the iconic shot of Buzz Aldrin's boot imprint on the surface of the moon, which is expected to last at least a million years, and a shot of famous American astronaut John Glenn, captured while in orbit around the Earth in the Friendship 7 capsule.

Lot 258: Buzz Aldrin - The astronaut’s footprint on the Moon, Apollo 11, July 1969 Credit: Bloomsbury Auctions
Lot 232: Training for the Moon landing, Apollo 11, June 1969 Credit: Bloomsbury Auctions

First man on the moon Neil Armstrong also features in a number of prints, including a shot of him during a simulation of the moon landing.