In June 1972, a scandal erupted involving the Apollo 15 crew. Three astronauts reportedly brought approximately 400 unauthorized postal covers into space. These covers were stamped and postmarked envelopes intended as collectibles.
The mission, which launched in July 1971, included crew members David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin. Unknown to authorities, Scott loaded the covers into his pocket before liftoff. They spent several days on the Moon inside the Lunar Module Falcon.
Upon their return, the astronauts were found to have planned to profit from the sale of these covers. A West German stamp dealer named Hermann Sieger sold some of them for high prices. The crew members agreed to receive around $7,000 each for their involvement.
After the incident became public knowledge, massive media coverage followed. NASA reprimanded the astronauts, and they were called to a Senate committee session. The scandal reportedly ended their space careers.
Despite returning the payments received from Sieger, the negative portrayal of the astronauts in the press lingered. By the late 1970s, all three had departed from NASA. In 1983, Worden took legal action against the government for seizing the envelopes without a hearing. Ultimately, the Department of Justice concluded it had no grounds to contest the suit, leading to an out-of-court settlement.
In 2014, one of the covers sold for over $50,000. The Apollo 15 postal covers incident remains a curious chapter in the history of space exploration.
