NEIL ARMSTRONG WENT to the moon, which was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He didn’t want to forget his trip, so took a few souvenirs–well, quite a lot actually. His widow recently discovered a bag in his wardrobe full of original Apollo 11 artefacts which were never destined to return from the moon.
A slight step up from taking little shampoos when we go to hotels.
Carol Armstrong discovered the bag after Armstrong died in 2012, aged 82. The equipment was supposed to have been left on the moon, and according to reports from Gizmodo, he had never mentioned possessing the items in the 40 years since his return from space. Carol donated the items to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where they will be displayed.
The purse and it’s contents was confirmed as legit by Alan Needdell of the museum, with the help of some Apollo Lunar Surface Journal experts.
Among the priceless items, are 16mm camera that recorded the Apollo 11′s descent on to the moon and the placing the American flag, helmet straps, a waist tether, an alignment sight mirror device and er, a ‘waste management cover’.
The full contents include:
- Temporary stowage bag aka ‘purse’
- Power cable
- Power cable utility light
- Utility light
- Utility clamp
- Utility clamp
- Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS)
- Filter for COAS
- Light bulb assembly
- Waist tether
- Helmet tie down straps
- 16mm camera with bracket and 10mm lens
- Lens shade
- Eyeguard assembly
- Mirror
- Emergency wrench
- Waste management cover
- Netting
While he told no one about taking the bag, NASA have since unearthed records of Armstrong chatting about it, with Neil telling fellow astronaut Mike Collins:
You know, that that one’s just a bunch of trash that we want to take back LM parts, odds and ends, and it won’t stay closed by itself. We’ll have to figure something out for it.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was also pictured with it. RIGHT under their noses.
