Rare 500-year-old book containing Christopher Columbus' description of the CANNIBALS he found in the New World is set to sell for £600,000

The extremely rare book, which dates back to 1494, is being auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auction on their website and could fetch as much as £600,000.

Anyone wanting to get their hands on the rare book will need to raise more than $750,000 (£590,000), the current highest bid, with the online auction ending tonight.

In the historic letter Columbus said the new lands he discovered justified the expensive and risky expedition.

A Spanish version of the letter was printed in Barcelona in early April 1493 and a Latin translation was published in Rome around a month later.Christopher Columbus, depicted around 1592, set out for the East Indies in 1492 but instead stumbled upon the Caribbean islands of the Americas

The Latin version was swiftly disseminated and reprinted in many other locations. Leander de Cosco translated the letter into Latin for this 1494 Basel edition.

Six woodcut prints designed by German artist Albrecht Durer which represent the first depictions of the new world are also included in the hardbound book.

They show the arrival of the Spanish at the island Insula Hyspana, a map of the Antilles, the construction of the fort La Navidad on the island of Hispaniola and Columbus' caravel under full sail.

Woodcuts were an ancient technique in printmaking where an artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood.

The book belongs to the Robert Menzies collection, the personal library of former Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Gordon Menzies.

A spokesman for US-based Nate D Sanders said: 'The book is significant because it is Columbus' account of discovering the new world, which he wrote on the Nina while sailing back to Spain.

'According to the Library of Congress, 17 editions of the letter were published between 1493 and 1497 and only eight copies of all the editions still exist.'

Columbus set out on his first voyage in August 1492 with the objective of reaching the East Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.

Instead of reaching Asia, Columbus stumbled upon the Caribbean islands of the Americas. 

Convinced he had discovered the edges of Asia, Columbus set sail back to Spain.

The letter that launched a thousand ships: Columbus' letter telling of the new world

'To the first island I discovered I gave the name of San Salvador, in commemoration of His Divine Majesty, who has wonderfully granted all this. The Indians call it Guanaham.

'The second I named the Island of Santa Maria de Concepcion; the third, Fernandina; the fourth, Isabella; the fifth, Juana; and thus to each one I gave a new name.

'When I came to Juana, I followed the coast of that isle toward the west, and found it so extensive that I thought it might be the mainland, the province of Cathay.

'I heard from other Indians I had already taken that this land was an island, and thus followed the eastern coast for one hundred and seven leagues, until I came to the end of it.

'From that point I saw another isle to the eastward, at 18 leagues' distance, to which I gave the name of Hispaniola.

'There are many spices and vast mines of gold and other metals in this island.

'They have no iron, nor steel, nor weapons, nor are they fit for them, because although they are well-made men of commanding stature, they appear extraordinarily timid.

'The only arms they have are sticks of cane, cut when in seed, with a sharpened stick at the end, and they are afraid to use these.

'Often I have sent two or three men ashore to some town to converse with them, and the natives came out in great numbers, and as soon as they saw our men arrive, fled without a moment's delay although I protected them from all injury.

'At every point where I landed, and succeeded in talking to them, I gave them some of everything I had-cloth and many other things-without receiving anything in return, but they are a hopelessly timid people.

'It is true that since they have gained more confidence and are losing this fear, they are so unsuspicious and so generous with what they possess, that no one who had not seen it would believe it.

'They never refuse anything that is asked for.

'They even offer it themselves, and show so much love that they would give their very hearts.

'Whether it be anything of great or small value, with any trifle of whatever kind, they are satisfied.

'I forbade worthless things being given to them, such as bits of broken bowls, pieces of glass, and old straps, although they were as much pleased to get them as if they were the finest jewels in the world.

'As for monsters, I have found no trace of them except at the point in the second isle as one enters the Indies, which is inhabited by a people considered in all the isles as most ferocious, who eat human flesh.

Take The NASA Space Poop Challenge And Win $30,000

There are many problems that must be solved before humans can travel to Mars including radiation, weightlessness, and space dementia and NASA needs help solving one of the dirtiest issues.

NASA is asking the public to help a design a system that will collect and funnel human waste away from the astronaut's body while they're wearing spacesuits, according to Rick Mastracchio, a space station veteran.

"I can tell you that space flight is not always glamorous. People need to go to the bathroom even in a spacecraft."

This may sound strange because the general public may assume there has been some Star Trek-style waste disposal system available for the past 50 years of spaceflight, but that's not the case.

America has sent spacecraft past he very edge of the solar system and invented phones that talk to outer space, but disposing of simple human waste remains beyond us.

Today, astronauts wear heavy spacesuits during liftoff and spaceflight in case of an emergency and are required to wear diapers if they need to urinate or defecate, but that's not a good long-term solution.

Until now, astronauts could spend up to 10 hours in their spacesuits, but with the approach of a manned Mars mission NASA is preparing for crises that may last up to six days, 144 hours.

Before sending astronauts on a six month journey to Mars, or even a trip to the moon, NASA needs a way to keep them clean and hygienic in case of a crisis. The space agency is planning for emergencies involving decompression that force astronauts to remain in their suits for an extended period of time and diapers aren't the answer.

"Given enough time, infection, and even sepsis can set in. This is the problem we are asking you to help us with."

Enter the NASA Deep Space Poop Challenge hosted by HeroX where members of the public could win $30,000 for helping design a human waste disposal system for the spacesuit.

"The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeks proposed solutions for urine, fecal and menstrual management systems to be used in the crew's launch and entry suits over a continuous duration of up to 144 hours."

The space agency is offering three prizes for the top human waste disposal designs that can be integrated into the spacesuit and take no more than five minutes of the astronaut's time to install, according to a NASA promotional video.

"[In case of an emergency] the crew member will have less than 60 minutes to get into and seal their spacesuit."

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio offered would-be designers some tips on NASA's video promoting the Space Poop Challenge.

The new NASA spacesuit appears big and bulky from the outside, but offers little room inside and isn't built for comfort so waste disposal systems should be kept on the small side.

Astronauts may float freely while on mission, but they will have to strap themselves into chairs for reentry where they will pull 4 to 5 g's so the new system should be designed to withstand that pressure.

In a zero g environment, liquid will form spheres, but can still be absorbed normally by surrounding fabric and even a slight airflow will move it, and any surrounding solids, in a specific direction.

NASA's Deep Space Poop Challenge is open until Dec. 20 and the names of three winners will be announced Jan. 31. The space agency plans to test the chosen solution next year and integrate it into the orange Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES) in the next three years.

"Even though this technology is being developed for spaceflight like many NASA technologies it will have applications for use here on Earth."