The Hasselblad camera, which was used by astronaut Jim Irwin to capture 299 images at the time of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, is up for an auction in Austria. A 70mm Hasselblad Electric Data Camera (EDC) is described as the camera used on the moon and is to be auctioned on March 21 by Austria's WestLicht Gallery.

There were 14 cameras in total that were sent to the moon during its 11-17 missions in 1969-1972. The gallery says the Hasselblad EDC camera is the only camera that was used on the lunar surface and has managed to reach back to the Earth's surface. It is believed that the camera will fetch an amount between $200,000 and $270,000 in the auction, said Peter Coeln, owner of the Westlicht gallery holding the auction.

The authenticity of the camera has not been confirmed by NASA, but gallery officials reveal that the number 38 printed is one of the major proofs that confirm that Irwin used the same camera on the lunar surface.

Coeln said, the number appearing in the NASA snapshots "is 100-per-cent proof that this camera is the real thing and really was on the moon".

All 299 images captured by Irwin bear the same number i. e. number 38. The number could be observed on the camera's Reseau plate, which is a transparent piece of glass that is used to overlay calibration crosshairs on the pictures captured with the camera.

Vienna's Westlicht gallery is one of the world's largest auction houses for cameras. In 2012, it has also auctioned Leica camera prototype made in 1923 for 2.16 million euros, which is a world record.