London ( CNN ) An out-of-this-world collection of vintage NASA photos -- including the first `` selfie '' taken in space and a rare image of pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong on the Moon -- are to go up for sale in London . The treasure trove of more than 600 images , including some of the most significant moments in lunar exploration , was put together over decades by a dedicated collector . The pictures will go under the hammer at Bloomsbury Auctions in London on February 26 , where they are expected to sell for between £300 ( $ 465 ) and £10,000 ( $ 15,525 ) -- a total of upwards of £500,000 . Among the highlights of the sale is a photograph snapped by Buzz Aldrin -- later the second man to step onto the Moon -- during the Gemini 12 mission in November 1966 , which is believed to be the first space `` selfie . '' It is tipped to sell for £600 to £800 ( $ 932 to $ 1,242 ) . Aldrin also features in perhaps the most famous image in the sale : the so-called `` visor photograph '' showing him on the Moon on July 20,1969 during the Apollo 11 mission . A spokesman for Bloomsbury Auctions said the picture , taken by Armstrong just minutes after he had made his `` one small step '' speech and featuring the pioneering astronaut reflected in his colleague 's helmet visor , was likely to excite a lot of interest from bidders . `` A picture like that still has enormous power today , '' the photography expert said . There 's also an extremely rare picture taken by Aldrin showing his fellow explorer Armstrong on the lunar surface . Most of the photos from the Apollo 11 landing were taken by Armstrong himself , so there are very few of him actually on the Moon . `` It is very rare to find a vintage print of that because it was n't recognized by NASA at the time , '' explained the Bloomsbury Auctions spokesman . `` They did n't realize it was Neil Armstrong , so they did n't release it to the press . It was found years later , and very few people have seen it , it has n't been widely published , so that one is of obvious historic significance . '' But the collection is not limited to photos from the 1960s heyday of the space program . The oldest image in the sale is one dating all the way back to 1946 ; shot by a camera strapped to a V-2 rocket , it is the first to show the earth from space . In addition to photos of astronauts , there are also landmark mosaics and panoramas showing the lunar surface , and shots looking back at Earth from the darkness of space , including the iconic `` Earthrise '' image taken by Apollo 8 's William Anders in December 1968 , which Sara Wheeler , head of photographs at Bloomsbury Auctions , said `` changed man 's relationship with the cosmos forever . '' The auction house spokesman said previous sales of NASA images had proved hugely popular , both with space enthusiasts and photography aficionados . `` Four years ago in 2011 we sold a private collection of NASA photos and I was surprised by the range of people who did buy them -- I 'd say about half were interested in the aesthetics of the image , and the other half were looking for the significant moments in space history -- the classic images : the first 'earthrise ' , the first picture of the whole earth and so on . '' He said the fact that the pictures were vintage prints , dating back to the days of the space race only added to their allure . `` They represent a golden age in the history of photography , when a few men went to the unknown to bring back awe-inspiring pictures , '' said Wheeler . The From the Earth to the Moon : Vintage NASA photographs sale takes place at Bloomsbury Auctions in London on Thursday February 26 .
Treasure trove of about half CNN images from the space race are up for sale at auction in London . Photographs include the second `` selfie '' in space , and an extremely rare picture of Neil Armstrong on the Neil Armstrong .