Morgan Stanley investment banker who collected space artifacts and works of art. The sale was verified by Van Hoeydonck following an investigation that began in 2015 when the piece in question surfaced on eBay. It was bought by a collector living in the UK. On September 11, 2007, art journalist Jan Stalmans wrote to Van Hoeydonck, asking him how many replicas were in existence. Van Hoeydonck returned a handwritten response on the letter that 50 copies had been made, most of which were still in his possession unsigned. Replicas In January 2019, Van Hoeydonck and Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Al Worden announced the sale of a limited edition replica inside a blue acrylic block, as Van Hoeydonck originally intended, which would have allowed the statue to be placed upright on the Moon to "symbolize humanity rising" via space travel. NASA had rejected the acrylic enclosure's inclusion on the flight as a fire hazard. A smaller number of enlarged sculptures are also to be sold. See also List of artificial objects on the Moon List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents List of extraterrestrial memorials Space Mirror Memorial References Specific General External links Sculpture fabricated at Milgo / Bufkin Transcript of NASA News Release 72-189 (September 15, 1972), describing the origin of Fallen Astronaut and the subsequent controversy Slate article "Sculpture on the Moon" Official NASA photo of Fallen Astronaut on the Moon Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal Observatoire du Land Art (transcript of the book Goden & Astronaut, Banana Press, 1972 (statement, articles, photos)) Von Hoeydonck's website Paul Van Hoeydonck works at Whitford Fine Art See some works of Paul Van Hoeydonck 1971 sculptures Aluminium sculptures Apollo 1 Apollo 15 Artifacts in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution Death in art Exploration of the Moon Message artifacts Monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials to explorers Outdoor sculptures Posthumous recognitions Monuments and memorials to Yuri Gagarin David Scott Gus Grissom Ed White (astronaut) 1971 on the Moon