Space Shots (trading cards)

Pack-inserted entry blanks for a “$150,000 Space Trivia Challenge” enticed both young and adult collectors to read the card backs and answer 25 space flight history questions,^[3] with entry blanks being sent by mail to those interested.^[4] The first 100 people to submit correct answers to 100 trivia questions posed on the first four series of cards were to receive a $1,500 scholarship.^[2][5]

The original promo sheet for the first series featured an uncut card sheet of six different card images and featured the pre-printed signatures of Lovell, Cernan, and Pete Conrad.^[6]

The first collectors' edition of 25,000 sets of 110 cards sold out in 10 months.^[2]

The promo card for the second 110-card series was an uncut six-card sheet signed by Lovell, Bruce McCandless, and cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov.^[6] The series of 100,000 sets was issued in 1991 and was sold for $18^[2] in card shops and by mail.^[7]

The promo sheet for the third series, entitled the International Edition, featured a packet of nine cards handsigned by Lovell, Dzhanibekov, and Buzz Aldrin. Most of the astronauts and cosmonauts eventually left the project.^[6]

A special edition set, the fourth released, was called "Moon/Mars". This series retailed for $30.^[8]

The cards were embraced by the National Education Association.^[9]

The fifth and final series was never produced. Originally, 25% of every series' profits were designated for the Astronaut Memorial Foundation to build the Center for Space Education at Kennedy Space Center,^[9] in exchange for guaranteeing a $160,000 loan. However, the proceeds were never forwarded^[10] despite a projected $400,000 being owed to the Foundation.^[11] The $150,000 in scholarships for the 100 trivia contest winners was also never awarded. ^{[citation needed]}

Some astronauts refuse to sign cards from the Space Shots series.^[12][13]